This past Sunday, the golf team experienced a lot of firsts. The team closed out their first match of the 2010-11 campaign with a first place finish at the Hamilton Invitational.
Junior co-captain David Wien lead the way for UR as he shot a 72 on Saturday and a 77 on Sunday to end with a 149 and tie for individual first place honors with freshman Greg Scott of Hamilton College. Wien’s win at the Hamilton Invite was the first individual collegiate tournament victory of his career.
How are you able to stay mentally tough knowing that one bad shot could ruin your round?
Basically, I try to put all my attention on the shot that is in front of me. I try not to think about shots that I hit before or shots that I may have coming up.
How important was it for the team to start off the season with a win? What does your individual win do for you?
It’s important because we have a very good team this year and winning this first tournament sets the tone for the rest of the season. For me individually, I worked really hard on my game this summer and it’s a huge confidence booster to win this first tournament because it makes me feel like my work has paid off.
When did you begin playing golf?
I started playing when I was about 4 years old. My grandfather was a builder and he built me a little miniature golf club and that’s what I started with. My mom was a really good player, so she helped me out through my junior career. I played my first tournament when I was 6 years old.
What are you currently studying at Rochester? What are your plans for after college?
My major is Financial Economics. I interned this summer with Lincoln Financial Group and I’m still undecided about what I am going to do after college since it’s two years away. But I plan on pursuing some type of career in business or finance.
What type of training is required to play golf at the collegiate level?
Most of the physical golf training that involves running and weightlifting comes in the winter, which is the off-season, because golf is not a sport you want to play while you’re sore. So in the winter we run a couple miles early in the morning twice a week. We do a little bit of weightlifting. I’d spend anywhere from 5 to 10 hours a week practicing. In the winter, we use the field house to practice and hit golf balls. Also, I live in Towers and my suite mates and I all play golf. We just got an artificial putting green, and we put it in our common room. So we’re going to use that just to practice putting in the off-season.
What are your goals for the season, both individually and as a team? Is the team expecting a big season this year? Why or why not?
We have some really good freshmen. The goal for our team this year is to win as many tournaments as we can. We have to win the right ones. And if we do that, our ultimate goal is to make it to the National Championship in May and compete and play well there. Individually, I would like to win more tournaments, but more importantly, I want to help my team get to the National Championships.
Do you have any superstitions that you follow when you play golf?
I always use a quarter to mark my ball on the green, and the quarter has to be heads up.
How does playing a sport while attending UR enhance your college experience? How are you able to manage a full class-load while playing golf at such a high level?
Playing golf at Rochester has definitely made my experience here a lot more unique and fun. I definitely enjoy my time here because of the experiences I’ve had on the golf team. As far as managing my class work while playing golf, we are gone every weekend in September, October, March and April, so I have to do a lot of work on Thursday nights when other people don’t. And I have to make sure that I get stuff done ahead of time, so I don’t fall behind.
Mulberg is a member of the class of 2014
