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University of North Carolina Athletics
Sophomore Kevin Silva Gives Tar Heel Golf Team Consistent Play
April 5, 2004 | Men's Golf
April 5, 2004
Chapel Hill, N.C. - Sophomore Kevin Silva, a two-year starter for the UNC men's golf team, has produced consistent play this year with five top-30 finishes so far. In September 2003 at the Ping/Golfweek Preview, Silva finished one-stroke behind and runner-up in the individual race with a one-under-par 139.
He also contributed to Carolina's back-to-back team wins in the fall at the Franklin Street Partners Invitational and the Duke Golf Classic. The New Bedford, Mass., native tied for 20th at 14-over 230 in the Tar Heels' host tournament, and he tied for 30th at nine-over 225 in Durham, N.C.
In Carolina's first spring tournament at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, Silva posted a six-over 222, good for a 20th-place tie. Then at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship, Silva led all North Carolina golfers, finishing tied for 28th with a six-over 220.
With one tournament and the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship coming up, Silva's consistently successful play will be key for the Tar Heels. Silva sat down with TarHeelBlue.com to discuss his first two years at UNC, the game of golf and how to succeed.
TarHeelBlue: How do you facilitate a team atmosphere with an individual sport?
Kevin Silva: "The team atmosphere starts in the practice sessions. We all come out here at the same time and play little competitions with each other or play the course together. The only time we aren't together is on the course. Before and after the rounds, we're together."
THB: Is it hard to get four individuals to play well at the same time when you can't feed off each other during play?
Silva: "That's why college golf is very difficult. You have five guys on a team, with four scores that count. You just need to play your own game and have confidence in yourself that your score is going to count. Out on the golf course, you never know who's having a rough or a great day. You just have to stay out there yourself and hang in there."
THB: Does Coach Inman tell you how your teammates are doing while you play?
Silva: "He doesn't like to tell us unless he thinks it's a necessity. For the most part, he likes us to play our own games."
THB: How do you keep your focus over a weekend?
Silva: "If you can put it in your mind that you're going to try as hard as you can on every shot, you'll find your scores will be good. If you start looking at tomorrow before today is even done, that is where the mistakes lie most of the time. You need to take every shot as it is and don't get ahead of yourself."
THB: What do you think about having to play two rounds in one day?
Silva: "It's tough physically and mentally because as your body wears, your minds tends to wander as well. It's just a matter of concentrating on the shot at hand. The day is long, but it seems to go by faster if you don't think 'Oh man, I have so many holes left.'"
THB: How do you balance the individual and team competition?
Silva: "You want to think the team comes first and in your heart it does. But if you look just at the team aspect, it tends to take away from your game. You just have to play as well as you can to help the team out. I tend to look at college golf as an individual sport first, then when I'm off the golf course, I root for my teammates."
THB: Do you like to watch golf or play for fun?
Silva: "Absolutely. Actually, this weekend I got to play for fun and just had a good time, not really caring what I shot and being with friends. It's hard to have that mind-set when you're at a tournament. But in a sense, that's the mind-set you want to have.
"I actually play a little better when I'm having fun. If I'm paired to play with one of my better friends in college golf, it's a little less intense and a little more fun."
THB: How can golf prepare you for your non-golf related future?
Silva: "Golf is a game of integrity and honor. It's the type of game where you call penalties on yourself."
THB: Who do you look up to in golf?
Silva: "That's a tough question because there's a lot of good players out there, with Tiger Woods and Davis Love and all the great players in the world who have beautiful golf swings. A couple of people I look up to are John Inman, my coach, and Brad Faxon.
"I've actually played a little golf with Brad and he's a great guy, someone you can learn a lot from. And coach, he's been there the last two years, he's been on the PGA tour, you can only learn things from watching him play."
THB: Why did you chose to come and play for UNC?
Silva: "The whole athletic program is amazing from basketball to golf to soccer. All the national championships and the prestige brought me here. I knew I was going to be taught by a great coach. And the academics are great here. I was getting recruited by a few places but I came here on a visit and I absolutely loved it."
THB: How has your golf game changed while at UNC?
Silva: "I think I've become a lot smarter on the golf course. I've matured as a person and as a golfer. My game has been steadily getting better since I was 15 or 16-years-old. I try to get a little better every year. I'm not trying to get as good as I can in one year. Golf is a game you can never master."
THB: How do you handle school, playing, traveling and down time?
Silva: "I want to be as good a golfer as I can, but I'm also working on my time management and doing as much as I can in the day. You go to class in the morning, eat lunch, go to practice, eat dinner and then by that time you're already tired, and you just want to go to bed.
"But you need to take that extra time at night to maybe get ahead of the work. I don't want procrastination in the classroom to stress me out because it could affect my golf game."
THB: What is your favorite thing about golf?
Silva: "My favorite thing is playing new courses. The game is constantly changing. It's not like basketball where you're playing on the same size court, hoop and conditions.
"The variables in golf are constantly changing. The wind might change, the pin placement changes, it keeps things new and interesting - you can get variety in the courses you play."
