Fresno State Athletics
On the Range: with Alex Lee
2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
By: Matt Burkholder
mburkholder@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's golf team is less than a week from teeing off its spring season at the Farms Collegiate Invitational, Feb. 8, and before the team got too busy, GoBulldogs.com was able to catch up with freshman Alex Lee to see what he was looking forward to this spring and reflect on the fall semester a bit.
Q: Reflect upon your fall season a minute for us. How did you feel you guys did as a team, and how you felt you did individually?
Lee: As a team, we played very consistent, I feel like in the beginning. No one really went super high and it was pretty even. And I think as an individual I played alright. I got one top 10 at Colorado State, which was one of my goals before I got here was to finish at least in the top 10 once in the fall.
Q: How do you hope to build off some of the success you saw in the fall, going into the spring?
Lee: I think for me, I learned quite a bit about my game in the fall. I struggled in the beginning a little bit, and I think during the offseason [winter break] I've had time to analyze my game and look at what I need to improve on. Hopefully in the spring I can fix a few of the bad things that I did in the fall.
Q: Is there any specific part of your game you're looking to improve on the most?
Lee: Mostly mental, because I feel like I put way too much pressure on myself and I feel like I wasn't mentally strong and that cost me a few shots here and there. And my ball striking was not very good in the fall, so I worked pretty hard in the offseason to improve.
Q: You speak of the mental aspect of the game. Confidence is a huge deal in golf and you saw you can have those results with a top 10 finish like you did at Colorado State. Where do you gauge your confidence level right now?
Lee: Right now I'm at an eight, but during the fall season I was at a five or a four. Right now I'm definitely a lot more confident.
Q: Is that a product of just getting comfortable with the collegiate game?
Lee: As a junior [amateur golfer] I played in some pretty big events, so I don't think it was necessarily playing college golf that was causing me to be like this. I think I was just in a slump with my game and it's hard to be super confident if you're not playing well.
Q: Is there a specific tournament you are looking forward to the most this spring?
Lee: The John Burns Invitational in Hawai'i. Because one, I've never been to Hawai'i before, and I've looked at past results and the field is unbelievably strong, so I can't wait to play in that one.
Q: Does it get you more excited to play or do you change your approach in a tournament like that with such a high caliber field?
Lee: Definitely. I think it motivates not only myself, but I think I can speak for the whole team. When we are going up against Pac-12 schools and the top schools in the country, I feel like when we play well we can keep up with them, and that does motivate us in those strong events.
Q: Is there any ultimate goal you have set for yourself or any team goal that's been set for when you look back at this year, you will say that was a successful season?
Lee: I think a good goal for the team would be to win a tournament, because it's been a few years since that has happened. I think with our lineup and with the players on our team we are capable of pulling that off. And as an individual, I think a good goal for right now would be to finish a few times in the top five or top 10 and get myself in contention more often.
Quick Hits:
Favorite Golfer? Tiger Woods.
Hat or visor? Visor.
Augusta or St. Andrews? Augusta.
Par 3 or Par 5? Par 5.
Golf Superstition? Only white tees.
Favorite Club in Bag? 8 Iron.
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Players Mentioned
