For some Bobcats, this week’s tournament means experiencing something that they may only get once in a lifetime.
Ohio will travel to Seattle to play in the Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay Golf Course — the course where the 2015 US Open was played.
“It’s the trip of a lifetime,” senior Peyton White said. “We’re all stoked to get out there.”
Playing on a course that hosted a major two years ago is exciting for the Bobcats, but past the obvious challenge of playing on a big-time course is that the course itself is another challenge.
The golfers in that US Open struggled throughout the week, with Henrik Stenson saying the greens were like “putting on broccoli.”
Even if the course is difficult to play on this week, the Bobcats know they can’t blame the course if they struggle.
“It’s golf,” White said. “Everybody’s playing the same game at the same time.”
Whether the course plays like it did during the US Open or if the greens have improved — something coach Bob Cooley said is possible — the Bobcats will use this test to improve going into the Mid-American Conference Tournament later this month.
“It’ll be a nice adventure for the kids,” Cooley said.
Ohio will look to use this adventure to continue to build confidence, something that White has been doing, and will hope to continue to do so.
White is coming off a victory in the Bobcats last event, the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular, which has given him confidence going into his last two regular season tournaments.
“Golf is 100 percent a game of confidence, and what’s between your ears,” he said. “It propels you forward and we’ll see what happens this week.”
And who knows, White could win his second tournament in a row.
“Any given week, someone can just light it up and run away with it," White said.
