Andrew Vijarro has led the men’s golf team to top three finishes in each of its first three tournaments this year. The sophomore from Bend, Ore., has had two straight top-ten finishes individually, and tied for third at the MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif., with a two-round score of 135 (seven-under par). The Emerald caught up with Vijarro before the team left for the Pacific Invitational in Stockton, Calif.
Oregon Daily Emerald: Did you play any other sports in high school besides golf?
Andrew Vijarro: No, I didn’t play any high school sports. I was a freestyle skier, and I competed in 60-foot jump skiing events. I competed in a few events up on Mt. Bachelor, and I got to the point where I could do back flips, 360s and 540s over 30 or 40 foot jumps. I got pretty good at that, and then I kind of tweaked my back doing it, and I needed to prioritize my things. I knew that golf was more important, so I didn’t quit skiing but I quit competing at freestyle skiing.
ODE: Do you know what you’re majoring in yet?
AV: I want to say business. I may minor in business and major in something else, but I would go with business right now if I had to buckle down and choose.
ODE: Do you have any idea what you want to do after college?
AV: Hopefully play professional golf for a while, see how that goes. If that doesn’t work out, I would like to be a business owner. I’ve been fortunate enough to grow up around Curt Baney, he’s a kind of dad for me, and his son is my best friend. They own a chain of hotels, the Oxford Suites. So maybe get involved in that, and overall I’d like to own my own business in some kind of market that way, or maybe even a golf course.
ODE: What’s your favorite thing to do outside of golf?
AV: I really like being outdoors. I’m a big fly fisherman, I love to fly fish. I like to go paintballing, and just be on the river.
ODE: What’s your favorite part about living in Eugene?
AV: Basically, just the atmosphere of all the sporting events: the football games, the basketball games. I would say those are definitely my favorite things to do in Eugene.
ODE: In terms of golf, how do you feel your game has evolved since you first started playing at the collegiate level?
AV: I would say my game has evolved immensely. I came in with a pretty solid swing, but I really needed to fine-tune a lot of things. I would say my short game is probably the biggest thing that’s come around since getting here. Short game is so huge, and you don’t really realize it until you get to a level where there are so many good players. All of my ball striking stuff has pretty much stayed the same, but my short game has changed a lot.
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Athlete of the Week: Andrew Vijarro
Daily Emerald
November 3, 2009
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