14 I Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 Eyes on Kuchar in Atlanta By Doug Ferguson ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER ATLANTA-Matt Kuchar is the face of golf in Atlanta this week at the Tour Championship, just like he was 10 years ago. There’s one ference. Actually, there’s about 10 million differ ences. Kuchar is the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup going into the final playoff event, which starts Thursday at East Lake. That gives him a slight edge in the race for the $lO million bonus, the biggest payoff in golf. It’s hard to believe that Kuchar, perhaps the most celebrated amateur golfer at Georgia Tech since Bobby Jones, wasn’t even sure he wanted to turn pro when he graduated a decade ago. He had won the U.S. Amateur. He lit up Augusta National with his engaging smile and a game good enough to be the low ama teur at the Masters in 1998. Then came the U.S. Open at Olympic Pawei Dwiilit- Associated Press Steve Nash (middle) poses at a house party for his film “Into the Wind," part of ESPN's "30 for 30” Suns’ Steve Nash directs new film By Rachel Cohen ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER Six-year-old Steve Nash woke up every morning eager to turn on the TV to see where Teriy was. Like Canadians young and old, the future NBA ==^== — star was capti vated in 1980 by Tr Fox v i'erry jx’s determination to hobble across the country on his artificial leg to raise money for cancer research. Now that Nash is adding docu mentary director to his eclectic list of interests, the subject of his first film was natural. “Into the Wind” airs Tuesday on ESPN as part of the network’s “30 for 30” series. It has already been shown at the Toronto International Film State College Peace Center - Human Rights Film Series “The End of Poverty? Think Again” 7:30 pm Thursday. September 23 Room 201 Stale College Municipal Building 243 South Allen Street. State College WMw.scpeacecenter. org □ LEAD □ FOLLOW □ GET OUT OF THE WAY WHICH ONE ARE YOU? it s a question that's gumg to continue to pop up throughout the course of your hfe At the UnHed States Air Force Officer Training bcooct, wc It make sure you re m :he ir,-i:i We work ham to ensure officers U.av; •;ern with a set nf values that is becoming mcro-3i.tngty rare integrity, honesty and *crt tude. Consequently, the training received by qualified ’applicants is one of « kind. If you're ready to move- into a .eadersmp tele, call 1-BQO-423-USAF o? tog on to our Web site at airforce.com. U.S.AIRFORCE Club, where he held his own agdinst golf’s best and tied for 14th. Not long after that, a busi nessman tossed out the idea of staying an amateur. “He said, ‘Nobody has really done it since Bobby Jones. There’s plenty of money to be made in the business world. It’s not that you have to turn profes sional to make money,”’ Kuchar said. “And he encouraged me to still stay competitive as an ama teur. He said, ‘The doors that will open for you will be amazing, and the better you do in golf if you keep playing Masters tourna ments, if you keep playing well in Amateurs it’s only going to open more doors. “So it was a neat opportunity. Kuchar went to work for Liberty Associates, a boutique investment banking firm in south Florida, a job that entailed plenty of golf with prospective clients, a chance to see how business gets done as efficiently on manicured fairways as in boardrooms. Chasing the amateur dream, however, soon turned into a sprint. Festival and on Canadian televi sion. The 21-year-old Fox, who had lost his right leg to cancer, ran for 143 days, crossing two-thirds of the country on his Marathon of Hope. He never completed the trip, halted by newly discovered tumors, and died in June 1981. Nash said on a conference call Wednesday he was fascinated by “the conflict between being this humble, quiet kid who wanted to shy away from the spotlight, and at the same time his quest was built on attention.” The two-time MVP co-directed the film with Ezra Holland, his cousin and business partner in production company Meathawk. “Hopefully this is the first of many,” Nash said. Those many may have to wait. CROSS INTO THE BLUE Kuchar played the Texas Open on a sponsor's exemption in the fall of 2000 and missed the cut by one shot. He was furious with himself and wanted to tee it up the next week to prove he was better than that. "And it was then that I knew I needed to really go week in and week out to see how good I could be." he said. It took him time to find out. He won his first PGA Tour event two years later at the Honda Classic, immediately went into a tailspin and didn't emerge until hooking up with Chris O'Connell, a Texas based coach who taught him a one-plane swing that was more about making a consistent swing than a perfect one. The plan has worked to near perfection. No one has more than his 11 top 10s on the PGA Tour this year. His consistent play, coupled with a victory at The Barclays, has put him atop the PGA Tour money list for the first time in his career, his first Ryder Cup team and No. 10 in the world ranking. The 36-year-old Nash is signed with the Phoenix Suns for two more seasons, and he said "I would probably bet that I’d play more." For now he's thrilled to get his start as a director while he's still placing. Renowned for his decision making and vision as a point guard, he found those the great est challenges m the world of Him "You ';•< Nash said. "You have a dear vision of how you want it to go. You try your best to execute it to the intent, but you continually question whether that's the right way to go. Just trying to find a balance between being positive and progressively critical and at the same time not debilitating yourself or overana lyzing." Hit your Target! SEMESTER PACKS will get you there! ★ Organized, Detailed, Typed Notes ★ Notetakers: “A” Students in Class ★ Ready the Next Day ★ Free Practice Exams (★selected courses) ★ Best Value for Your Money 300+ COURSES AVAILABLE CALL FOR COURSE LIST \\NITTANY NOTES * Vj-; 238-0623 NittanyNotes.com vacs questioning Carly Niness (right) makes a play against Purdue last season Changes on the way By Alex Angert COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Nobody is safe. After an embarrassing loss against Dartmouth over the week end and a disap- pointing final non- conference cord, coach Erica Walsh is looking to shake up her lineup going into Sunday's Big Ten home opener against Michigan State. “We have a whole new season ahead of us," she said. “We're pre pared to make some changes." Noticing the team hasn't been able to win on talent alone, Walsh is looking for grit, desire and char acter out of her starters during Big Ten play. The coach took blame for her players’ lack of heart following their most recent loss, and she is hoping to see an attitude and com mitment adjustment through practice this week. “They have got to earn their spot in the next three days," Walsh said after practice on Tuesday. “They’ve got to earn it with their coaches. They've got to earn it with their peers. And it's going to be about effort and not just talent. I would expect some changes come Sunday” During practice on Tuesday, players ran back-and-forth. sprint ing from one goal to the other and then jogging back to the start line. As soon as the last player made it back, the whistle blew and the players were off again. The coaches pushed the players to the limit, as most had to rush for water and take a seat as soon as practice finished. The Daily Collegian Andrew Dunheimer/Collegian As for what the coaching staff is looking for from the team it is sim ple. “That they are committed and they are willing to make sacrifices and willing to put themselves out there and give everything they have," assistant coach Ann Cook said. “That's all we can ask.” Cook added it's somewhat of a learned skill to get back into this mindset and it has slipped from the players a little bit as of late. However, the coaches have made it clear to the team that any thing can happen this week and things may get shaken up. “She's definitely mentioned that basically it's whoever wants it the most," junior Carly Niness said. “Maybe you might not be as good as someone, but if that person is not working their hardest then they're not going to play." Niness said the team opened up practice with the dreaded beep test, which examines the players endurance by having them run between two points faster and faster as they try and keep up with the beeps. The test was followed by two 15-minute scrimmages and a lot more running. Throughout the entire practice, the coaching staff would make the players repeat pieces over-and over again, drilling in the impor tance of hustle and making plays perfect “If this group expects things to be different in the results column, they need to make changes,” Walsh said. “They need to recom mit themselves. I think one good day of training doesn’t say they’ve recommitted themselves but its a good start." To e-maii reporter: adal47@psu.edu
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