By the time most college students wake up at noon on weekends, these guys have already put in a full day’s work.
They’ve been up since dawn, smacking ball after ball off the dewy grass and into the crimson morning skyline. They will continue until they can no longer track their golf balls more than 50 yards from their sweat-filled brows. They are the golfers.
UCSD’s golf team is perhaps one of the most underappreciated teams on the campus. Day-in and day-out, Triton golfers put in countless hours perfecting their craft.
They putt, chip and swing until their muscles ache and their minds near exhaustion. Yet, the only thing they hear about their sport is the ravings of ignorant students who shout that, “”Golf is not a sport. Golf is for sissys.””
These uninformed masses have obviously never attempted to “”just put the little white ball in the hole.””
This year the team bids farewell to two of its mainstays for the past few years, Lenny Langford and Darin Sullivan.
Langford, a senior from San Gabriel, Calif., came to UCSD as a transfer student two years ago. With 10 years of golf experience and a one handicap to his credit, Langford was able to walk onto the team as a junior. He hasn’t looked back since.
“”It was great to be able to walk onto the team as a transfer student and play,”” said Langford.
Among his fondest memories id traveling to away matches with the rest of the team.
“”I’m going to miss the trips with the team,”” Langford said. “”I remember always having a good time on those trips.””
Sullivan, a senior from Escondido, Calif., has been a rock for the team throughout his years with it. He has consistently performed among the top members on the team, proving his senior leadership with a solid three-round score of 226 at the CCAA Men’s Golf Championship, held this year at Hunter Ranch Golf Club in Paso Robles, Calif. The performance was the second-highest on the team and was good for 16th overall.
Though these Triton golfers will most certainly miss the comraderie of the team, they will also have to miss being able to play at Torrey Pines Golf Course as their home course. Torrey Pines is one of the top golf courses in the world that is also home to the PGA Tour’s Buick Invitational every year.
“”It was awesome to be able to play on Torrey Pines,”” Langford said. “”It is a great course. One of the best in Southern California.””
We wish these dedicated Tritons luck as they leave the cozy confines of UCSD and Torrey Pines and venture off into the real world. May their proverbial drives be straight while putters remain free of the yips.
Look out world, here they come. Fore!
