For the first three days of the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in Williamsburg, Va., last week, one player seemed to be the center of attention. He was patted on the back by coaches, interviewed by magazines and TV networks, and cheered by fans.
Who was this man in the spotlight? Was it then-leader Kyle Stanley of Clemson? Rob Grube of Stanford? Eventual winner Jamie Lovemark of the University of Southern California?
The right answer, in fact, is freshman Quakers golfer Chance Pipitone. His was a name rarely heard in college golf circles until he shot a 14-under par at his NCAA Regional in Tempe, Ariz. to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
In doing so, he became the first Penn golfer to make the Championship since 1960 and the first Ivy Leaguer to do so since the 1980s. So even though he shot 10-over par through three rounds and failed to make the cut, the attention was well-deserved.
"Having people know I was out there playing was real cool," Pipitone said.
What wasn't cool, he admitted, was his performance on the course the first two days of play.
His first round was inconsistent, to say the least. Starting on the back nine, he put his tee shot on No. 12 - a 189-yard par-3 - into the water and carded a double-bogey as a result. Things looked up after two birdies, but he made three straight bogeys going into the turn and went six-over in a five-hole stretch.
However, he did fight back and finish his round with back-to-back birdies to shoot a five-over 75, but put him in 130th place (of 156).
"I think he was nervous," coach Rob Powelson said. "He realized that this was the Holy Grail of golf and he was a little out of rhythm."
Pipitone explained that he was trying to do too much that first day, and set out to "go low, shoot a 63 or something."
As a result, he said that he tightened up - especially on his drives - causing them to go errant.
Missing the fairway was a serious punishment at the NCAA, as Powelson described the rough as "US Open-like."
"Chance also missed some birdie putts that could have turned that round from 75 to 70," Powelson said.
So Pipitone set out last Thursday to prove that he was capable of going low and improving on his first-day.
But after a cold start on the second day where he made three bogeys in the first six holes, Pipitone said that "he didn't learn" from his mistakes on the first day. He failed to improve on the back nine and carded another 75.
On Friday things finally went Pipitone's way.
"I think he was at ease [on Friday] and a lot more relaxed," Powelson said. "Plus, he had a lot to prove."
What he had to prove was that even though making the cut for Saturday's final round was unlikely, he could still score as well as anyone in the field.
"I calmed down and just focused on making pars," Pipitone said.
He made 14 of those, along with a pair each of birdies and bogeys to shoot an even-par 70. However, his 10-over par was well off the cut line, and Pipitone was reduced to watching the final round.
While watching, the confident Pipitone could not help but start looking to the future.
"I don't feel there was a gap between myself [and the top players]," he said. "Now the goal is to get back here next year and show that to everyone."
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