Phillips excels for Southeast after quiet start

After having a strong showing on the summer circuit, Kent Phillips entered his senior golf season at Southeast Missouri State University with high hopes.

It took a while, but following a disappointing fall campaign the Central High School graduate is finally living up to his lofty expectations.

Phillips has recorded a pair of second-place finishes out of three tournaments during the early part of the spring season and he'll be looking for continued success this week when Southeast has its only home meet of the spring, a two-day, Ryder Cup-style match against Tennessee-Martin that is being billed as the SEMO Cup.

The event will take place today and Tuesday at Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson, beginning at 8 a.m. both days. The schools will pair off in several two-man teams, with 18 holes of scramble and 18 holes of alternate shot today, followed by 18 holes of four-ball Tuesday.

"The spring has definitely been a nice surprise so far since I didn't have a real good fall," Phillips said. "I had a real good summer -- I made it to match play in the state amateur and did well in some other events -- and had high expectations for the fall, but I just didn't play well.

"Then I struggled in our first tournament of the spring, but I've done well the last two and hopefully I can keep it going."

Phillips, the Indians' only senior, said focus and relaxation have been the primary keys to his recent turnaround, which includes a runner-up finish at last weekend's New Orleans Invitational.

"As a senior, I think I put a little too much pressure on myself in the fall, but this spring I just decided to go back to having fun again," he said. "And the last two tournaments, I've been the most focused since I've been here."

Phillips has not fared well in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament during his Southeast days but he hopes to change that when the event is held late next month in Paducah, Ky.

"I have had some good rounds but not a whole tournament," Phillips said. "My goal is to make the all-tournament team and hopefully give myself a chance to win, although the OVC has some really good golfers and I know it's going to be tough."

Southeast coach Carroll Williams said the improvement Phillips has made over the past several years is nothing short of remarkable.

"He's had a good year so far, and the story about him is what college sports are really all about," Williams said. "He was an average high school player, and his freshman year of college he couldn't play a lick for us, but he's worked so hard and spent countless hours at it, and he's turned himself into a solid golfer. It's a neat story, and he's a really good kid."

Phillips, a sport management major who is scheduled to graduate in May, will remain at Southeast next year as a graduate assistant in the school's sports marketing department, for which he also has worked this year. He said his ultimate goal is to be an athletic director at a Division I university.

"We'll see if I can make it," he said, laughing.

In the meantime, Phillips wants to keep playing well and also help the team have a successful spring season.

"I think we all have the potential to have a really good season if we put it together," he said.