Alabama coach encouraged by what’s ahead
For The Oklahoman
As Lakareber Abe’s putt slid past the cup on the firts playoff hole, it opened the door for Arizona’s Haley Moore to clinch the Wildcats their third women’s golf national title Wednesday at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
Alabama coach Mic Potter missed out on his second national title in 13 seasons at the helm of the Crimson Tide.
Arizona defeated Alabama, 3-2. Here’s what Potter had to say about junior Lauren Stephenson’s day, the match and looking forward to next season.
Q: Was it strange to see Stephenson struggle?
A: She was just a little off for some reason. I don’t know what it was, but she wasn’t as precise with her driver, and that’s tough out here. She didn’t make any putts that she felt like she had this week. But we had a chance at the end, and you have got to get a contribution from everybody.
Q: How do you get your team to bounce back from a loss like this?
A: I think we have all got to realize if you play competitive golf at this level, you’re going to lose sometimes. Tiger (Woods) won under 25 percent of the time when he was at his peak, so you just don’t win all the time. Arizona is a great team, too. They got the job done today, and they made one more putt than we did. That’s going to happen. Hopefully our girls are going to compete for U.S. Open’s and things like that. You have got to train for dealing with losing.
Q: What excites you looking to next season?
A: We could be really good next year. We have a girl coming in that’s in the top 10 of the world amateur golf rankings and another Italian that’s on the national team that’s a pretty good player. I’m always excited to look at what’s next, and that’s the beauty of my job is it always is fluid and you always have a new palette to work with.