With a stroke average of 73.0 for 30 rounds, Dylan Goodwin was named this year's Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year, earning his position among the First-Team Conference All-Stars. South African-born Goodwin who spent his freshman year at the University of Washington and who now lives in Mukilteo, finished in the top-ten seven times in ten tries and recorded his first collegiate win - at the Grand Canyon Fall Invitational in Goodyear, AZ in October when he opened with a round of 63.
BellinghamGolfer conducted a little Q&A with Dylan ahead of this week's NCAA Division II Super-Regional at the University of New Mexico Championship Course in Albuquerque, NM.
BG: Did you start the season thinking you could be GNAC Player of the Year by the end of it? Was that in your thinking?
DG: It never crossed my mind. I started the season just trying to get off to a good start and get some momentum. I worked especially hard at the end of my last school year and throughout the summer so I was excited to start the year and complete some goals of mine, but GNAC POY was not something I was even considering. I had some very small short-term goals to start with and, as I continued to play well, I added larger, longer-term goals.
BG: What would you say has been the strength(s) of your game this season?
DG: I've always been fortunate to be a good driver of the ball, but what really helped me this season was improvement of my mental game and iron play. Just having a better attitude out on the course has allowed me to turn a terrible round into a decent one that has kept me in contention. It has also helped in the opposite manner too; if I've been playing well, I've not been getting too serious and tense which has allowed me to keep the birdies flowing a shoot a low number.
BG: How do Coach Card and Coach Thurmond's (UW) styles differ?
DG: They are very different but both very effective. I feel very comfortable playing for Coach Card as he gives me a lot of confidence that I can take to the golf course.
BG: The team's fall season was very impressive, the spring season less so. Why do you think that is?
DG: We had an exceptional fall coming off a lot of tournaments and good weather during the summer. We were all very sharp and playing well. It would be easy to blame the rough weather we had in the winter which didn't allow us to practice as hard as we would have hoped but we just flat out haven't performed like we know we can. We have slowly regained that sharpness over the past few weeks and are excited to perform this week and hopefully get the job done.
BG: The team didn't perform at its best in Albuquerque last month (fourth at the Western New Mexico University Invitational also played at the UNM Championship Course). Will that be a burden, or do you think the team will benefit from the experience of having played there?
DG: No doubt about it, it will be a huge benefit that we played there last month. We know what to expect and the challenge the course presents. Having any knowledge is great so even though we left with a sour taste in our mouths we knew it was a beneficial defeat. We are looking forward to redeeming ourselves when it really matters.
The Western women's team is currently second in its super-regional with a round to go. The Vikings are on 49-over-par 625 through two rounds on the 5,964-yard Tascosa CC in Canyon, TX., and 15 shots behind leader Tarleton State. Western's Sophie Elstrott shot a superb 71 Monday and is second in the individual standings on eight-over 152. Tarleton State's Carla Cooper leads on 146.
