Courtesy Virginia Tech Athletics CommunicationSophomore Marshall Bailey completes his swing and watches his shot.
Bailey, a Fincastle, Va., native, is a member of the Botetourt Country Club, right outside of Roanoke. The club, proud of its collegiate star, still posts the Virginia Tech sophomore's stats on its Web site's homepage.
Speaking of statistics, Bailey's are quite impressive already.
"I won the state high school championship (as a senior), and I won the State Junior also," Bailey said. "They sound like the same thing, but one is high school and one is a separate state tournament, and to win them both in one year was pretty cool."
Even before his collegiate debut, Bailey had qualified for the U.S. Amateur with his performance at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
"Having the ability to compete in his first national championship gave him added confidence, and he continued his strong play into his first collegiate season," said Tech head golf coach Jay Hardwick. "Marshall was one of our most consistent players all last fall, all last spring. He played in every tournament for us as a freshman and had probably the best summer out of everyone on the team."
Bailey, as many golfers young and old in the Tiger Woods era, said he draws a lot of inspiration from the famous golf icon.
"He is so disciplined in his practicing and he sets the bar for everyone else that comes after him," Bailey said.
As is with Woods, focus is key for Bailey.
"When I am out there practicing I always try to make the best of it, so I am not just out there hitting balls, but I am trying to keep something specific in mind to work on every time," Bailey said.
When asked about his thoughts on his performances this past summer and in recent tournaments, Bailey said that, although he has not shot particularly low, he doesn't think that he has shot poorly and that overall he has been playing consistently.
"I haven't been putting too well lately. If I can get some putts going, then maybe some lower scores, but, all in all, I am playing pretty well right now." Bailey said.
The first two tournaments of the 2008 collegiate season have gone pretty well for Bailey. The Tech team headed to the Wolverine Intercollegiate to kick off the fall season in Ann Arbor, Mich. After feeling ill the entire week before, Bailey was still able to shoot competitively, and he finished tied for 22nd place in the individual category.
One tournament that the team is excited for is the Puerto Rico Classic located in San Juan from Feb. 26 to March 1. Bailey traveled with the team to this tournament as a freshman and was glad to find out that they would be heading back to kick off the 2009 spring season.
Perhaps this is the tournament in which Bailey will break through and finally get his first collegiate medal -- or, even better for him, a first place individual or team finish, two things Bailey wants to accomplish before he graduates from Tech. Although it still seems like a while before the sophomore business major will be receiving his degree, Bailey sees a future for himself in golf beyond the college level.
"Hopefully I will be playing professionally, trying to make some money -- but if not, I would like to have some type of job in the golf business," Bailey said.
Next up for the Tech team, which has finished seventh and sixth in its first and second tournaments of the fall season, respectively, is the Brickyard Collegiate Golf Championship in Macon, Ga., this weekend.
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