SE: Cool Under Pressure, K-State Men’s Golf Brings Home Husker Invite Team Title
Apr 20, 2021 | Men's Golf, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Larry the Cable Guy presented K-State Men's Golf with the trophy at the Git-R-Done Husker Invitational on Sunday.
Even in a season like this one, that sentence might be the strangest thing to happen to a K-State team this year. The stand-up comedian is a Lincoln native and a huge Huskers fan, sponsoring the annual golf tournament in Nebraska with his signature catchphrase.
But for a K-State program that captured their first team title since 2019, the key on Sunday wasn't Git-R-Done.
It was CVBR. Committing, Visualizing, Breathing and Reacting.
"This is a process that Coach has been trying to teach us before every shot. It's part of our routine," Tim Tillmanns said. "Committing just means swinging freely and not being afraid of anything. That really helped me."
Tillmanns carded a sparkling 67 on the final day of the tournament, as the sophomore helped the Wildcats secure a team title in their final tournament of the regular season. But K-State has been knocking on the door all year.
The 'Cats held off three schools for a fourth-place finish at Sea Island in Georgia. In Missouri earlier this month, a team lead through two rounds slipped away on the tournament's final day.
"We've been in contention three times now this spring," head coach Grant Robbins said. "It seemed like each time it wasn't that we played poorly, we just didn't make the clutch shots. Our guys just kept chugging along today and made some of those clutch putts down the stretch that we always talk about."
For Tillmanns, his most important shots of the weekend came on a series of par 3s at Firethorn Golf Club. He called them some of the most difficult holes he's ever played.
In his opening round, Tillmanns bogeyed all but one of them. A change in approach and mindset helped him make it through those holes at -1 in his second round and an even par on Sunday.
"I just felt I didn't really commit at first because they were very intimidating," Tillmanns said. "That always gives me a big momentum boost when I can hit certain spots on the green. On the following holes, I think that confidence was the biggest difference for me."
On the final day of the tournament, Tillmanns' steady play through the par 3s at Firethorn helped spark his lowest round of the weekend and his best 18-hole score of the spring.
Plenty of athletes at K-State would agree that those pressure-packed moments can offer an opportunity for growth, but golf is one of the few sports in Manhattan where those moments don't occur in one quarter or inning.
This was a whole day packed with pressure. After all, a weekend can unravel on just one hole.
"If you're in these pressure moments, you learn a lot about yourself," Tillmanns said. "You learn from your mistakes and try to do it better the next time. The Sea Island event and the Missouri event really showed me what kind of person I am under pressure. I could take the positives from that and know what I needed to work on to close it out in the next tournament."
Robbins challenged his players to stay in the moment as the Wildcats locked in on a team title, making sure K-State didn't abandon the strategy they had developed for the challenging course.
But with K-State and Minnesota both distancing themselves from the field on Sunday, Robbins let his team know when it was time to be aggressive.
"I told a couple of guys, 'Hey we're a few shots down, we need to make some birdies. Let's go right at this flag,' instead of being a little more conservative," he said. "But that doesn't happen until you get late in the round and you've got to do something. For the most part, you're sticking with the strategy and that one-shot mentality that's so important."
Robbins pointed out another quality of college golf that makes the sport unique: athletes can expect their performance to vary at almost every tournament.
To compete in the Big 12, you need a team with five players firing on all cylinders at the same time. And there's no better time than late April, with a conference championship looming.
As the Wildcats head to Hutchinson for Big 12s next week, Robbins is focused on his team's short game, something he compared to defensive rebounding in basketball.
K-State's head coach is also hoping for a little wind, which would give the Wildcats a true homefield advantage at Prairie Dunes Country Club.
Before K-State faces the best the Big 12 has to offer, the 'Cats already have one thing locked up before the most important tournament of the season: momentum.
"This event showed us that we can win," Tillmanns said. "We're going to go out and play our game…but second place in Missouri and this win showed us what we're capable of."
Larry the Cable Guy presented K-State Men's Golf with the trophy at the Git-R-Done Husker Invitational on Sunday.
Even in a season like this one, that sentence might be the strangest thing to happen to a K-State team this year. The stand-up comedian is a Lincoln native and a huge Huskers fan, sponsoring the annual golf tournament in Nebraska with his signature catchphrase.
Got-R-Done 🏆#KStateMGolf x EMAW pic.twitter.com/pRy1YBWmR9
— K-State Men's Golf (@KStateMGolf) April 18, 2021
But for a K-State program that captured their first team title since 2019, the key on Sunday wasn't Git-R-Done.
It was CVBR. Committing, Visualizing, Breathing and Reacting.
"This is a process that Coach has been trying to teach us before every shot. It's part of our routine," Tim Tillmanns said. "Committing just means swinging freely and not being afraid of anything. That really helped me."
Tillmanns carded a sparkling 67 on the final day of the tournament, as the sophomore helped the Wildcats secure a team title in their final tournament of the regular season. But K-State has been knocking on the door all year.
The 'Cats held off three schools for a fourth-place finish at Sea Island in Georgia. In Missouri earlier this month, a team lead through two rounds slipped away on the tournament's final day.
"We've been in contention three times now this spring," head coach Grant Robbins said. "It seemed like each time it wasn't that we played poorly, we just didn't make the clutch shots. Our guys just kept chugging along today and made some of those clutch putts down the stretch that we always talk about."
For Tillmanns, his most important shots of the weekend came on a series of par 3s at Firethorn Golf Club. He called them some of the most difficult holes he's ever played.
In his opening round, Tillmanns bogeyed all but one of them. A change in approach and mindset helped him make it through those holes at -1 in his second round and an even par on Sunday.
"I just felt I didn't really commit at first because they were very intimidating," Tillmanns said. "That always gives me a big momentum boost when I can hit certain spots on the green. On the following holes, I think that confidence was the biggest difference for me."
On the final day of the tournament, Tillmanns' steady play through the par 3s at Firethorn helped spark his lowest round of the weekend and his best 18-hole score of the spring.
Plenty of athletes at K-State would agree that those pressure-packed moments can offer an opportunity for growth, but golf is one of the few sports in Manhattan where those moments don't occur in one quarter or inning.
This was a whole day packed with pressure. After all, a weekend can unravel on just one hole.
"If you're in these pressure moments, you learn a lot about yourself," Tillmanns said. "You learn from your mistakes and try to do it better the next time. The Sea Island event and the Missouri event really showed me what kind of person I am under pressure. I could take the positives from that and know what I needed to work on to close it out in the next tournament."
Robbins challenged his players to stay in the moment as the Wildcats locked in on a team title, making sure K-State didn't abandon the strategy they had developed for the challenging course.
But with K-State and Minnesota both distancing themselves from the field on Sunday, Robbins let his team know when it was time to be aggressive.
"They played well all week, but especially today down the stretch to get the win."
— K-State Men's Golf (@KStateMGolf) April 18, 2021
Wildcats grab share of Husker Invitational title to end the regular season
📄 https://t.co/KjltQlFU8s
📊 https://t.co/mGAOxJYR9t#KStateMGolf pic.twitter.com/eQleF7cBJ1
"I told a couple of guys, 'Hey we're a few shots down, we need to make some birdies. Let's go right at this flag,' instead of being a little more conservative," he said. "But that doesn't happen until you get late in the round and you've got to do something. For the most part, you're sticking with the strategy and that one-shot mentality that's so important."
Robbins pointed out another quality of college golf that makes the sport unique: athletes can expect their performance to vary at almost every tournament.
To compete in the Big 12, you need a team with five players firing on all cylinders at the same time. And there's no better time than late April, with a conference championship looming.
As the Wildcats head to Hutchinson for Big 12s next week, Robbins is focused on his team's short game, something he compared to defensive rebounding in basketball.
K-State's head coach is also hoping for a little wind, which would give the Wildcats a true homefield advantage at Prairie Dunes Country Club.
Before K-State faces the best the Big 12 has to offer, the 'Cats already have one thing locked up before the most important tournament of the season: momentum.
"This event showed us that we can win," Tillmanns said. "We're going to go out and play our game…but second place in Missouri and this win showed us what we're capable of."
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
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