SE: Gandon to Open Senior Season at World Amateur Team Championships in Ireland
Sep 05, 2018 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Jeremy Gandon's final golf season at K-State will start in Ireland — a country the France native has never been to, nor expected to be visiting a few months ago. To be clear, this was a good change of plans.
Gandon will be one of three French players to play for his country in the World Amateur Team Championships this week at Carton House, in Maynooth, Ireland. He also represented France in the 2016 WATC, a biennial event, and he's eager for the second opportunity.
"It's great, going back to back," he said, as the four-day event begins on Wednesday. "I didn't perform that well my first time and I feel like now I know what it is, and I'm playing good, too. So, I have the experience and the game to do well there."
Despite winning two tournaments last spring, including tying for first in the Big 12 Championship and qualifying for an NCAA Regional, Gandon said he entered the summer on the outside looking in when it came to being selected to represent France in this prestigious event.
Then Gandon finished second at the French Amateur Championship. In the process, he caught the attention of his national team's coaches.
"I had a good summer and I talked with coaches," he said. "They saw me play and they thought I was at the level to be on the team."
Gandon's summer also included finishing 21st, and second among amateurs, in a pro event in Italy. He capped his offseason with another runner-up finish at the Swiss International Amateur Championship, a performance he took pride in because he did not play his best.
"But I scored pretty well there," Gandon, who also played in the British Amateur Championship and the European Team Championship, said of his outing in Switzerland, where he finished one stroke off the winner. "That was very encouraging that even on not my best day I can still compete to win."
Two years ago at the WATC in Mexico, Gandon tied for 62nd. He posted a 4-over par 290 in the four-round event, which takes the top two scores from every round for each country's team score. France finished 16thout of more than 70 teams in 2016, with Gandon's score counting in two of the four rounds.
This week, Gandon will represent France alongside Frederic Lacroix, the 45th-ranked amateur in the world, and Victor Veyret.
"It's quite a bit of pressure because you're representing the country and you're one of only three players," he said. "I mean, it's the World Amateur (Team) Championships so there's definitely more pressure, but I feel like I'm going to be able to handle it, just play my game and see where it goes."
Gandon also said he feels like a much different golfer this time around. Specifically, he said his putting and long game have drastically improved in the last year. Maybe more important, he said, has been his improvement mentally.
"I don't get as frustrated as I used to on the course. With four hours on the course, you can't have a lot going on up there," he said. "I think I can manage all that stuff pretty well now."
Last spring was the beginning of this turnaround.
Gandon became the first Wildcat to win a conference championship since Graham Hunt in 1951, fending off adverse weather and some of the country's best golfers in the process. He also won the Hawkeye Invitational in April, earning him Big 12 Golfer of the Month honors.
"I played really good my last (few) tournaments here, and even this summer I've been playing really well," Gandon said. "So, I'm just going to build on that and go in confident."
His goal going in?
"I'm just trying to play the best. There are some great players there," he said, not letting the stiff competition temper his potential. "Why not win it? World champion, why not?"
Jeremy Gandon's final golf season at K-State will start in Ireland — a country the France native has never been to, nor expected to be visiting a few months ago. To be clear, this was a good change of plans.
Gandon will be one of three French players to play for his country in the World Amateur Team Championships this week at Carton House, in Maynooth, Ireland. He also represented France in the 2016 WATC, a biennial event, and he's eager for the second opportunity.
"It's great, going back to back," he said, as the four-day event begins on Wednesday. "I didn't perform that well my first time and I feel like now I know what it is, and I'm playing good, too. So, I have the experience and the game to do well there."
Despite winning two tournaments last spring, including tying for first in the Big 12 Championship and qualifying for an NCAA Regional, Gandon said he entered the summer on the outside looking in when it came to being selected to represent France in this prestigious event.
Then Gandon finished second at the French Amateur Championship. In the process, he caught the attention of his national team's coaches.
"I had a good summer and I talked with coaches," he said. "They saw me play and they thought I was at the level to be on the team."
Gandon's summer also included finishing 21st, and second among amateurs, in a pro event in Italy. He capped his offseason with another runner-up finish at the Swiss International Amateur Championship, a performance he took pride in because he did not play his best.
"But I scored pretty well there," Gandon, who also played in the British Amateur Championship and the European Team Championship, said of his outing in Switzerland, where he finished one stroke off the winner. "That was very encouraging that even on not my best day I can still compete to win."
Two years ago at the WATC in Mexico, Gandon tied for 62nd. He posted a 4-over par 290 in the four-round event, which takes the top two scores from every round for each country's team score. France finished 16thout of more than 70 teams in 2016, with Gandon's score counting in two of the four rounds.
This week, Gandon will represent France alongside Frederic Lacroix, the 45th-ranked amateur in the world, and Victor Veyret.
"It's quite a bit of pressure because you're representing the country and you're one of only three players," he said. "I mean, it's the World Amateur (Team) Championships so there's definitely more pressure, but I feel like I'm going to be able to handle it, just play my game and see where it goes."
Gandon also said he feels like a much different golfer this time around. Specifically, he said his putting and long game have drastically improved in the last year. Maybe more important, he said, has been his improvement mentally.
"I don't get as frustrated as I used to on the course. With four hours on the course, you can't have a lot going on up there," he said. "I think I can manage all that stuff pretty well now."
Last spring was the beginning of this turnaround.
Gandon became the first Wildcat to win a conference championship since Graham Hunt in 1951, fending off adverse weather and some of the country's best golfers in the process. He also won the Hawkeye Invitational in April, earning him Big 12 Golfer of the Month honors.
"I played really good my last (few) tournaments here, and even this summer I've been playing really well," Gandon said. "So, I'm just going to build on that and go in confident."
His goal going in?
"I'm just trying to play the best. There are some great players there," he said, not letting the stiff competition temper his potential. "Why not win it? World champion, why not?"
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