Practice time and travel key for third leading scorer
Buffs junior golfer Patrick Grady loves the long ball and has aspirations to play on the PGA Tour one day. Grady played the most rounds of anyone on the team this season and owns the third-best scoring average on the team.
Last week, in his best finish of the spring, Grady finished in 10th place at the Shocker Classic in Wichita, Kan. Grady recently took time out of his busy schedule to talk to the Campus Press about his experience as a student-athlete at CU.
CP: To what do you attribute your recent individual success?
GRADY: The last two tournaments were really the only two that I actually had opportunity to practice for. We had snow on the ground for two and a half months. We then jumped right into three consecutive tournaments with almost no practice.
CP: How do you feel about the team’s play so far this season?
GRADY: We have a very talented team. We just haven’t been able to get everyone playing well the same week. I feel the team has done very well coming straight out of winter.
CP: If you could play a round with one person, who would it be and why?
GRADY: I am going to go out on a limb and say Tiger Woods. He is the greatest.
CP: How do you prepare for a tournament?
GRADY: Practice, practice and practice. I mostly check my fundamentals. I have the philosophy that getting outplayed in a tournament is okay, but getting outworked in practice is unacceptable.
CP: Do you want to play golf after college? If not, what do you want to do?
GRADY: I will definitely give professional golf a shot. I am getting a business degree with an emphasis in finance and accounting, so maybe something in that field.
CP: What is the best course you have ever played?
GRADY: Hokulia, which was designed by Jack Nicklaus. It sits 100 yards from the Pacific Ocean on the Big Island of Hawaii.
CP: How do you make an impact as a leader on the team?
GRADY: I don’t think anyone on this team stands out as a leader. That is why we have awesome team chemistry. Everyone is accountable for themselves.
CP: What is your favorite part of college golf?
GRADY: Travel. I had only been on two airplane flights in my life before college. I have now flown to and played 23 out-of-state tournaments all over the country, including Hawaii.
CP: When did you start playing the game?
GRADY: I played my first round when I was about ten, but my first tournament was my freshman year of high school.
CP: What is your favorite club to hit and why?
GRADY: I’d say the driver because I like to hit the long ball.
CP: If you had a 6-foot putt for one million dollars, who would you have hit it and why?
GRADY: Me. I am not saying that I am the best putter in the world, but it would sure be fun to be in a pressure situation like that.
CP: What is your greatest accomplishment in the game, both in amateur and college golf?
GRADY: I won both the Colorado Amateur Match Play and Stroke Play Championships. My greatest college accomplishment was beating the No. 1 ranked player in the country, which at that time was Pablo Martin of Oklahoma State, in his home tournament last spring.
Contact staff writer Ben Dignan at benjamin.dignan@thecampuspress.com
