Improved outlook helps Andrew Orischak to top-10 finish at Sage Valley

Considering his start, it could have been a very long weekend for Andrew Orischak.

His opening tee shot at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley quickly snap-hooked into the woods, leading to a bogey. Another bogey followed.

At other times, such a start might have snowballed as Orischak’s frustration built. Instead, the Hilton Head Island teen kept focus and steadied his game — ending the weekend with a top-10 finish against a world-class field in one of the nation’s top junior tournaments.

“It was kind of a step forward for me in my golf game,” Orischak said Monday. “This past week I really did not have my best stuff as far as driving the ball. But I chipped and putted well and kept my head about me, so that was nice.”

Orischak brought out his best at the end, closing with an even-par 72 that was bettered by only four golfers on a tough final day. That moved him into a share of ninth, with a three-day score of 3-over 219.

Austin Eckroat of Edmond, Okla., went wire-to-wire to capture Sage Valley’s gold jacket. An opening 65 staked the Oklahoma State signee to a three-shot lead, which grew to five before holding off Australia’s Min Woo Lee at the finish.

The tournament, played little more than a half-hour from Augusta National, is considered in many circles as the Masters of junior golf.

“Obviously I was happy with my result,” said Orischak, who finished runner-up at last summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur but has battled inconsistency — and the inevitable frustration — in recent months as he goes through a growth spurt.

The University of Virginia signee said his only goal as he arrived at Sage Valley, located just outside Aiken, was simply to keep a positive attitude no matter what became of his shots.

“It’s easy for me to get down on myself,” Orischak said. “I get frustrated or find myself in this weird self-pity mode. I don’t know why, it just happens. It’s so easy to lose concentration and get frustrated.”

As things turned out, it was an objective put to the test right from the outset with his hooked drive on Thursday’s first hole. He did well to salvage bogey there, but still found himself 2-over after another bogey at No.2.

This time, though, Orischak parred the third hole and followed with back-to-back birdies, putting him back on level footing with 13 holes left in the round. He wound up carding a 73, ending the day tied for 10th and hovering around the top 10 all weekend.

“Little differences like that made for a better end result,” he said. “I would have been happy with myself if I hadn’t finished as well but didn’t get upset at myself. I’m just happy I was able to accomplish it.”

Orischak’s stay also included being part of the audience for a surprise guest, as Tiger Woods dropped by for a Thursday clinic and to take questions from the 54 golfers in the field.

“That was incredible, just as you would imagine,” Orischak said. “He answered every question we had and then some.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Improved outlook helps Andrew Orischak to top-10 finish at Sage Valley."