March 20, 2008

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After pulling off some of the feats that junior men's golfer Tyler Tucker has accomplished in the past few weeks, some people would still be talking about their accomplishments, and why not after winning your first individual title at the BSC Classic on February 26 and making the first-ever hole-in-one by a Spartan in a golf tournament at the Samford Intercollegiate on March 10.

But Tucker remains both humble and a man about team, looking for tournament wins for his team and not himself. He has put together a 75.1 stroke average in seven tournaments played and has been one of the driving forces behind Upstate's two tournament wins this season.

Tucker and his teammates also made their presence felt at USC Upstate men's basketball games as some of the most vocal Spartan supporters.

Recently, Tucker sat down with Adam Walker of upstatespartans.com to talk about his first individual title, team unity and his first career hole-in-one.

US.com: What has this season been like for the men's golf team so far?
Tyler Tucker: It's been pretty good. We finished well in all of our tournaments, especially in the spring. Josh (Gallman) has been winning every other tournament. Seeing as we are not eligible for the postseason, we take these tournaments as serious as we can and they are like our championships and we put everything into them.

US.com: Do you feel like the team has built off of the performance it had last season finishing runner-up at the Division II tournament?
TT: I think so. Some of the tournaments we played in last season were good tournaments with good competition and I think that helped us this season playing in bigger tournaments and better competition against Division I teams.

US.com: Can you describe how you felt when you won your first individual title at the BSC Invitational?
TT: I was pretty shocked. I think Baxter (Culler) had me by eight shots going into the final round and it was pretty windy that day. I didn't know that I would be able to make up that many shots, but I was really happy that the team won the championship instead of the individual title. It was pretty exciting.

US.com: Two weeks ago, you became the first Spartan to make a hole-in-one at the Samford Intercollegiate. How did you react when it happened?
TT: I really didn't know what to do since it was my first one. Michael Lawrence was on the other hole right beside the green and coaches on the tee box and they didn't know what to do. They were more excited that I was, high-fiving each other and hooting and hollering. It was exciting.

US.com: Do you feel like your playing your best golf right now?
TT: Not really. The past couple of tournaments I've been solid except for maybe two or three holes where I put up some big numbers, so if I can shore that up and play a complete 18 holes, it would probably be some of the best I've played.

US.com: Why was the men's golf team a very vocal group at men's basketball games earlier this season?
TT: I think it comes from days back in high school. I know when I was at Hillcrest, we used to be pretty wild. I think (Jaime) Lightsey, Gallman and Baxter were the same way. We just come over and get loud and rowdy.

US.com: What is the best part about traveling for tournaments?
TT: Probably, getting to go to places we've never been before. We're going to California next week and we've been to Connecticut and New Jersey and saw some exciting stuff along with way. Being away from class is also fun to.

US.com: Why do you think all of the guys on the men's golf team just click with one another?
TT: Because we spend so much time with each other. We don't have a big team and we always make time for each other and hang out with every thing that we do together. It's just easy to bond and some of us knew each other from high school and junior golf tournaments. We've known each other for a while now.

US.com: Does part of you wish that the team was eligible for postseason play this year?
TT: Yes. That was a fun time we had last season (at the Division II tournament). School was out for a month before the tournament and we just practiced every day and hung out a night and that was a fun time. I wish would could that this year, but I guess we can't.

US.com: What are your plans after graduation?
TT: My parents always ask me that as well, but I really don't know. I just want to do something that I'm happy at and enjoy doing. Whatever I find that is fun, I would enjoy doing that.