Men’s
golf season ends in disappointment
By
Karl Peterson
On-line Forty-Niner
The
49ers men’s golf team played in the
NCAA West Regional for the first time since
2000 and only the eighth time in the program’s
history last Saturday and Sunday. The team
was overwhelmed by the competition and despite
gaining valuable experience, The Beach finished
woefully behind the competition.
The
Beach finished the first day with very little
chance of qualifying for advancing to the
next round after the first day of play at
Sun River’s par 72 Crosswater Course,
only the top ten teams advance to the NCAA
Men’s Golf National Championships.
The 49ers finished 16 strokes back of tournament-leading
UCLA Saturday. Freshman Jeremy Keller led
the way for the 49ers, shooting a 73 at
the course that will host the men’s
and women’s national championship
tournaments over the next two seasons.
Keller’s
team-leading, one-over-par performance was
not going to be enough as the Bruins finished
the whole tournament with a team score of
one-over-par, 865.
The
second day of the competition, the 49ers
fell further behind the pace as the team
fell to 21st place overall and fell 36 strokes
behind tournament-leading New Mexico, doubling
its day one deficit with only one more round
left in the tournament.
The
Beach was also 23 strokes behind San Diego
State and Washington for the coveted 10th
place finish that guarantees a birth in
the next round.
While
the excitement was nearly over for the 49ers
in Sunday’s final round there was
still plenty on the line for many of the
teams. With the Lobos and the Bruins tied
going into play, New Mexico took the early
lead and held onto it for most of the day.
UCLA battled back late in the round to take
the tournament. The Bruins finished the
day two strokes ahead and the tournament
one stroke ahead of the Lobos.
There
was also a battle between UNLV, Pepperdine
and Washington for the 10th spot on a day
when the course scoring average was over
two shots higher. UNLV finished poorly and
ended play on the outside looking in, four
strokes back of the Huskies. UNLV will be
represented at the National Championship
by Ryan Moore who finished third individually,
two shots back of co-medalists, UCLA’s
Travis Johnson and Arizona’s Chris
Nallen. Both medalists finished five-under-par
and were one of five golfers to qualify
for the National Championship Tournament.
Also
qualifying for the NCAA Championship Tournament
at The Cascades Golf Course in Hot Springs,
VA were Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham
Young, USC, Toledo, UC Berkeley, Pepperdine
and Washington.
The
49ers should return all but two seniors,
Chris Gilley and Torey Edwards, for next
year’s team which will begin play
in the fall semester.
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