University of Minnesota Athletics
Back to Minnesota: Riley Johnson Blog No. 3
11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Correspondent Riley Johnson filed one more report before the Gophers departed Maui. Minnesota tied for 11th at the Ka'anapali Classic, with Thomas Longbella and Riley Johnson as its two top finishers.
Our last day in Hawaii has come to an end.
Coach Carlson picked us up our hotel at 6:45 sharp to head to the golf course, but hold up. Wait a minute. Coach spotted a McDonald's down the road and treated us to arguably one of the best breakfast joints to eat at, besides Tony's diner on campus. After hot cakes, sausage egg McMuffins and warm orange juice we were finally off to the course.
Without a breath of wind when we arrived we started to warm up, getting in the zone and making sure everything was working right and the feeling was good before we took on the day. Doeden and I started on 7, he was 7a and I was 7b so needless to say I saw the sexiest 3-iron laced right down the middle of the fairway by the senior! You didn't need to be an expert that studied body language. You would have known that kid was going to be under par today!
The wind started to pick up in the middle of the round. Not much, just 15 mph. The best players are never fazed. They adapt, adjust and compete! We had a great fall as a team and I can't wait to take a little time off and hit it hard in the spring. We have a special team this year with 14 guys that have the will to win!
After the round we stayed around and ate our lunch. After a full day of grinding, that food never tasted so good. Our flight wasn't until 10:40 at night, so we needed something to do. Go to the beach, relax and wade into the ocean?? Yeah, you best believe that's what we did! Sorry for making everyone jealous but it's not every day kids from North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iceland get to see and swim in the ocean! People were definitely staring at us and pointing once we took our shirts off. You can imagine that some people thought we were still wearing a white t-shirt (golfer's tan).
This week, if I had a dollar for every time someone said, "How's the weather in Minnesota right now?" or, "This weather is better than Minnesota, huh?" Chuckling like there's 13 inches of snow at this time. Hawaii's weather was unreal and I'd love to be back sometime soon!
Thanks, Hawaii, for a great time! You treated us Gophers very well!
Players Mentioned
