FSC women’s golf team played in the Guy Harvey Invitational Tournament in which they scored 315 to tie for 11th place with Armstrong State.
Kolby McWilliams, a freshman who has come to this team eager to learn from her teammates and willing to do what it takes to win, expressed her thoughts about this tournament.
“Before the Guy Harvey we were all in good spirits and physically ready to play. It was a very difficult course so we knew we had to prepare to play well,” McWilliams said.
Head Coach Kobbie Davis believes that the team could have done better, but he still considers that some of his players played well.
“We had played in two events prior so I was hoping for better play. We did play better but did not finish well; Emily Rymer and Abbey Williams played well,” Davis said.
According to McWilliams her expectations of the tournament did not match the final results, but she believes that the team is improving and learning from their mistakes.
“We all had some troubles, but I think we are all improving and learning with every round,” McWilliams said. “We didn’t play as well as we could have, but we are all working hard to bring everything together.”
Similarly, Davis added that his expectations were high due to the fact the team has recruited two new freshmen that are promising.
“My expectations were high, with two contributing freshmen, Abbey Williams and Kolby McWilliams, I was excited about our future and prospects for better play in the latter half of the year,” Davis said.
To McWilliams the relationship between her and the team is good, which has helped her adjust to the team.
“All of the girls on the team are very easy to get along with as well as very supportive to every member of the team. I have been very lucky to have adjusted so easily to the team,” McWilliams said.
Additionally, the relationship of McWilliams with her coach has also been important for her performance in the team.
“Coach is also very supportive, and he plays a key part in helping us to prepare mentally for tournaments by inspiring us with quotes and informational before our matches,” McWilliams said.
[pullquote]I am excited to see what all we can do and I am ready to get started.”[/pullquote]
The freshman from Tallahassee, explained in detail how the team prepares previous to a tournament.
“We always have a team meeting to get everyone on the same page, but other than that we prepare for our rounds individually by going through our notes from the practice round and concentrating on the round ahead of us,” McWilliams said.
Although the Mocassins started in 7th place and then fell into 11th place, some of the players moved up several spots reaching the top players in the tournament.
“Definitely experience, once you realize you can beat the field your performance goes up, that only comes through maturity,” Davis said.
On the other hand, McWilliams pointed out her self-evaluation about the overall performance at the Guy Harvey Invitational Tournament from which she plans to learn.
“Personally, I learned that you can’t compound mistakes. I made two big numbers during the tournament on the same hole and it was because I compounded mistakes instead of just settling for a mediocre score,” McWilliams said.
McWilliams and her coach both address mental game as the most important factor to consider looking forward to succeeding in the remaining tournaments of the season.
“Mental game is always something to work on in girl’s golf. It is the hardest thing to conquer and when we can go out and play carefree golf, we will win.” McWilliams said “I am excited to see what all we can do and I am ready to get started.”
“It’s more mental than anything, we need to become much tougher mentally and realize that the enjoyment in athletics is embracing pressure and overcoming it through composure and concentration, this will lead to success,” Davis said.