Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) senior golfer Sam Cyr clinched a 69-71 victory over Japan’s Shintaro Kobayashi in July to propel his 12-member United States team to a 23-37 win over Japan at the 33rd annual Fuji Xerox USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship at the Tokyo Golf Club.
“I had to win the match for us to win the tournament,” Cyr said. “If not, then we would keep playing. It was an awesome feeling to be able to play in Japan. It was a long flight over there and I didn’t think it would be as humid as it was.
“We weren’t allowed to wear shorts at the club. We had to wear pants the entire time. They even gave us umbrellas that helped protect us from the heat. Overall, it was an amazing experience,” he said.
Cyr’s win capped an impressive day for the Americans, during which they won eight and halved two of the day’s 12 matches.
Cyr, playing in his second international tournament, won two of his three matches by taking the first and third rounds, with a narrow second-round loss.
“We got off to a slow start. We were in stroke play and it can be very easy to lose with that format. I was up by five in one round, then made a bad swing and ended up losing the round,” he said.
Cyr had previously competed on the USA Team that defeated China two summers ago in the U.S.-China Friendship Cup, and he will travel to Sun City, South Africa, next month as a part of the six-member USA Team in the World University Games from Sept. 2 through 5.
Cyr is coming off an impressive National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) postseason in which he won the individual NAIA title at Plymouth, Ind, won the Region II championship, was named NAIA All-American this spring and was chosen to represent the United States this summer against Japan.
“I think I was more nervous in the international tournament than the college matches, because when you are representing your country, you have to be very careful how you conduct yourself,” Cyr said.
“In the college matches, you have 15 teams and about 80 players in a given tournament,” he said. “You definitely have to think twice when you say something (in international play). It is important to be considerate so you don’t give the USA a bad name.”
Cyr has an impressive resume after three years at PLNU. In 2008, he became the first three-time All-American in school history ” only the third PLNU golfer to win the NAIA individual title. In 2007, Cyr won or tied in four tournaments, finished second in the nationals and was named All-American for a second consecutive year.
During his freshmen year, he was named All-American and represented the United States in international competition.
Cyr’s teammates were Nick Bova (Methodist University), Cydney Clanton (Auburn University), Syndee Michaels (University of California, Los Angeles), Kevin O’Connell (North Carolina University), Andrew Putnam (Pepperdine University), Lizette Salas (University of Southern California), Ryan Spears (Wichita State University), Zach Sucher (University of Alabama-Birmingham), Brent Witcher (Valdosta State University), Chris Wolfe (Armstrong Atlantic State University) and Jessica Yadloczky (University of Florida).
