Chipping and Putting with Brandon Duff
9/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
It was the start of a new season. It was a start of the first tournament. It was a renewal for Brandon Duff after a shoulder injury halted his play a year ago. But it was a step in the right direction.
After having played in only one tournament a year ago, Duff cracked the lineup for the Wolverines to start the 2005-06 season. All he did was lead the Wolverines to their best finish in two seasons as the Maize and Blue finished third at the Hawkeye Invitational. He would set a personal best with a tie for seventh individually.
Along the way fired a new career-best for a single round with a two-under 70 in the first round and went on to set a 54-hole personal tournament best with a 215 total, five strokes better than his previous best.
With another start of the season upon him, Duff will be looking to regain the form his had during his sophomore season and become a regular in the starting lineup.
Duff took a moment to sit down and discuss the opening weekend, the upcoming season for the Wolverines and the goals he has set for himself and with his team.
On the team's performance in the first tournament of the year
"It was a good way to start. We came out and played pretty well. If one guy wasn't playing well, another guy would step up and play well, or if another guy didn't play well he would play better in the next round. In the last round, we didn't necessary finish where we wanted to and in the last couple years we actually started off slowly but finished strong. We want to be able to come out with a little more consistency but I'm glad we're all working on the right things."
On his own performance at the Hawkeye Intercollegiate
"I missed seven greens the entire weekend so I was hitting the ball well. But I believe I had 103 puts for three rounds and putting has always been an issue with me because if I am playing well, I am going to be putting well but if I'm not playing well then I putt pretty badly. This is a new year for me. I've had the chance to focus a little more in comparison to last year when I hurt my shoulder and when that happened, it was a downer for me because I was ready to play. I was hoping I had last year to get going but I'm starting it this year and for the entire year, hopefully."
On his maturity on and off the golf course
"I've definitely matured as a person and as a golfer but I've also matured in the scoring sense as well. I would go out there and if I wasn't playing very well, I'd tell myself that I wasn't achieving my goals, I wasn't achieving what I wanted. But now, if I'm not playing as well as I think I should, I know I want to keep striving for my goals and keep trying. You just never know when a shot's going to count and that's something that I've definitely learned a lot more from last year."
On the expectation of the team
"It's time to do well. We've had three or four years together as a team. A lot of the time, we say that we're still growing, we're still learning and that a possible third place finish is a positive and it is. But we're ready to win tournaments this year and do better than we have done in the past. We as a team and as individuals expect to do this and the coaches expect us to do this because we're a lot deeper this year than we have been in other years."
On the competition for a spot in the lineup
"I think the competition to earn a spot is good because we're pushing each other. I think it's important to develop a collective group of three or four guys who can consistently play well together and develop a sort of chemistry for every single tournament where if someone isn't having a good day, we know we can pick each other up. It would be good to have that kind of consistency but having a changing lineup and having that competition amongst each another is only going to make us better."
On how the team looks at the fall season
"The fall is the time for us to come out and get ready to play well. A lot of teams write off the fall or don't see it as being as important as the spring. So, we're expecting to play well in the fall because we want to do well and because we think it's time to play well in the fall, in the spring, just to play well all year round. Playing well now is definitely a way to get some momentum built up for the spring. I think it's good to come out strong in the fall and have that carry over to the spring when we go to Puerto Rico. This year, we have a tournament before the Puerto Rico tournament, so that will give us some good experience beforehand, especially with our sense of scoring."
On the season goals he'll set for himself
"I would like to compete in the starting lineup. I've always wanted to win a college tournament so that is one of my ultimate goals for the season that's always in the back of my mind. I want to do well as a team and finish in the top in the Big Ten. These are goals we always talk about but I think it's time we start to accomplish those goals instead of just talking about how we want to accomplish them."
On how important it is to host a tournament on your home course
"I think it's really important. It's a course you're used to playing on every single day and you hope it will help your scoring average and you can get some good rounds in there. It's just easier because you have a good knowledge of the course as far as the greens, as far as where you can make birdies and knowing the easier holes. It's very important to all of us."
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Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
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