Chipping and Putting with Brian Ottenweller
10/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
For his first collegiate golf season, Brian Ottenweller has made the most of his chances. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native would be the first to admit he has always wanted to play for Michigan, and when he got his chance to come to Ann Arbor he did not waste any time in saying yes.
So far in the fall season, he has played in all three tournaments and has started the last two tournaments. In his collegiate debut, he may have played as an individual, but all he did was lead the Wolverines as he cracked the top 10, tying for ninth.
En route to that finish, he recorded back-to-back one-under-par 71s to set his career best standard in his first and second collegiate rounds. After two solid performances at the Northern Intercollegiate and the Duke Golf Classic, he is fourth on the team with a 75.55 per round average and has shot two rounds under par.
With his third start coming quickly at the Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge, Ottenweller took a moment to talk about the first two months of his collegiate career and life as a freshman in Ann Arbor.
On the differences between college and high school golf
"The biggest change is playing on a team in which every player is as good as or better than I am. In high school, all the best players carry their team, but here everyone has to do their part."
On whether he is talkative during a round
"I try to talk as much as possible, it makes it more fun. You never want to get too tense out there, so I try to talk to whoever I play with and tell them a little bit about myself. It makes it more fun and the day go a little quicker."
On what his first collegiate round trip was like
"It was definitely fun. It was very long, but it was a good time bonding with the team. The way back wasn't as fun as the way up, because we didn't play that well in Wisconsin. It was fun being in the hotel and having the university treats us to that."
On his performance in his first career tournament
"It was pretty awesome and it is something I will remember for a long time. Things just played out better than I expected. I just had a lot of fun."
On if he feels pressure to perform in his first year
"I think there is pressure on everybody. Each one of us want to prove why we were recruited, why we needed to come to Michigan, and I think so far we've been able to do that. I've played pretty solid and I think we've all done well."
On dorm life
"It's fun being in a hall with 15 other guys, eating lunch together, and hanging out. We have a floor broom ball team. The whole college atmosphere and college life has been fun."
On what he knew he had to bring with him to school
"I brought my pillow. I've had it for so long; I knew I had to bring it to college."
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