Woo Takes Less-Is-More Approach Into Final Pac-12 Appearance
by Rob Moseley
Editor, GoDucks.com
The more strokes it took Jonathan Woo to negotiate a golf course last spring, the more work he put in on the range, and the putting green, and the weight room. More, more, more — what else could be the answer to Woo's highest scoring average in three years but hard work?
Now a senior for the UO men's golf team, which opens play at the Pac-12 Championships on Monday, Woo is blessed with the wisdom that less can be more. Entering play at the conference tournament in Pullman, Wash., Woo has posted the lowest scoring average of his career this spring, 72.85, and he's playing his best golf of the year in recent weeks.
Once on the bubble to make the travel squad, Woo is in position to finish his UO career with a flourish as the postseason begins this week. "Towards the end of my senior year, it's definitely been fun," Woo said last week.
Woo, a native of Singapore, enjoyed his breakout season as a sophomore in 2013. He tied for the team lead with 14 rounds under par, and he posted three top-10 finishes — including a win at Oregon's own Duck Invitational.
Poised to be a team leader as a junior, Woo instead saw his scoring average jump by nearly half a stroke, to 73.53. His answer? Grind away in practice.
On a typical day without any scheduled classes last spring, Woo might begin his day with an hour or more in the weight room, then spend three hours at the range and working on his short game. He'd break for lunch, then head back out to the practice facilities for another three-hour session.
All that work took its toll. "On the range it would be fine," Woo said. "Once I'd go out on the course, I was just tired. My body wasn't really working well."
The last five or six holes of an 18-hole round, he wore down. The mental strain affected his short game. Working with a sports psychologist, Woo came to terms with the fact he might be better off dialing it back.
"I was playing bad," he said matter-of-factly. "So I was just like, I should take it down a notch. And then it got really good."
Woo scored just once during Oregon's four-wins-in-four-events run this past fall, but it was at the Ka'anapali Classic, where the Ducks shot a record 30-under 254 in the first round.
Since the team endured a lull early in the spring season, the Ducks are starting to get their swagger back the last few weeks. Woo has played a big part in that, leading the team by going 7 under for three rounds at The Goodwin, and most recently shooting 6 over as Oregon finished second overall and first among Pac-12 entrants at the Western Intercollegiate.
"Knowing that I'm definitely not fighting for the fifth spot anymore, I can go out there and do my thing, hopefully help the guys out," Woo said.
With his new, tailored approach to practice, Woo can get through 18 holes without a struggle. He'll have plenty of energy to tack on some work at the range — if it's necessary. "I try to make sure I know what I'm doing, and maximize my practice time," he said.
That mindset will hopefully keep Woo — and his teammates — fresh through Monday's 36-hole grind at the Palouse Ridge Golf Course, and then 18 holes each Tuesday and Wednesday to determine the Pac-12 champions.
The Ducks headed to Washington with some confidence, based on their play in recent weeks and also their Itani Homes Collegiate victory at Palouse Ridge in the fall. Count Woo among the confident, and looking to lead the Ducks again after pacing the team with a 6-over tournament at last year's Pac-12 Championships.
"We're getting better," Oregon lone senior said, as he prepared for his final conference tournament. "Definitely on the upswing, for sure."
