Oct. 25, 2005

Washington D.C. - The 2005 fall golf season didn't exactly go as Georgetown University's David Erickson (Edina, Minn./The Blake School) had hoped, but the Hoyas senior wrapped up the campaign in a big way on Sunday at the Landsdowne Resort & Golf Club.

Erickson fired a three-under par 69 - tying his career low tournament round - and finished in a tie for fifth place at the Hoya Invitational, his best finish this season and the tops for any Georgetown golfer.

"The best way to put it is that it's been a bit of a challenge this season," Erickson said over the phone as he took a break from studying for a finance mid-term. "I've had some good rounds, but also had some let downs. This was a great feeling to come to our home tournament, in my last year playing here, and earn that finish."

Erickson shot a first-round two-over par 74, but had some bright spots during the opening round on Saturday that he said helped to carry him over into Sunday's final round. "I had an up-and-down round on Saturday - I made five birdies and had an eagle - but I made some poor decisions," he recalled. "I focused on the positives, because of those birdies, and I wanted to play a conservative, solid round and minimize my errors. That was the big key."

The key worked on Sunday morning. The rain and clouds from the first round went away and Erickson woke up to a sunny morning and a beautiful fall day. He got off to a great start, hitting a birdie on the par-4, 368-yard first hole.

"It was a great start to not only make the birdie, but I hit some good shots and that built my confidence," Erickson said. "It gives you some leeway to be more aggressive."

Erickson - who carried a 76.08 stroke average into the tournament - finished the front nine at two-under par, connecting on seven-straight pars before hitting a birdie on the ninth hole. His hot play continued on the back nine, as he made two more birdies and was four-under through 17. On the 18th hole - a par-4, 417-yard hole that the field played at an average of 4.48 strokes during the weekend - Erickson hit his tee shot into the right rough. He tried to wedge it on to the green, but his shot went past the green and he finished with a bogey.

"I just missed the green long. I played as well as I could have for 17 holes," he said. "It was a little disappointing to finish my round that way, but I looked at the bigger picture, knowing it was one of the best rounds I had played."

The Hoyas finished in a tie for 10th place in the 12-team field, but Erickson, a finance and management double major in the McDonough School of Business, feels that the team can turn it around in the spring.

"We have struggled, but sometimes when you struggle, you have to turn the corner somewhere," he said. "I think we learned a lot this fall. Even though our results were not to our liking, there were a lot of positives. A lot of guys got experience in our lineup and I think they'll respond to the pressures of college golf in the spring."

Now that the fall season is over, Erickson is taking some time off and catching up on school work, but when he gets back to play, he knows that Sunday's round will help carry him over during the winter. "We've got a long time off, but it keeps my intensity up," he said. "That's a big motivator."