May 31, 2008

Clemson Finishes Fifth at NCAA Golf Championships

West Lafayette, Ind. -- Sam Saunders shot a two over par 74 on Saturday to lead Clemson to a fifth place team finish at the 111th NCAA Men's Golf Championships at the par 72 Kampen Course at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. Clemson finished with a score of 49 over par 1201, just seven shots behind National Champion UCLA.

The top five teams were separated by just seven shots, the closest stroke margin for the top five teams at the national tournament since 2003 when Clemson won by two shots over Oklahoma State and just seven shots separated the champion Tigers and fifth place Wake Forest.

UCLA finished first at 42 over par, followed by Stanford at 43 over par and Southern California at 44 over. Oklahoma State was fourth at 48 over par, just one shot ahead of Clemson. Clemson was the highest finisher among ACC and SEC schools with its fifth place finish. Wake Forest (22nd) and Virginia (26th) were the only other ACC teams in the field.

Clemson had its highest team score of the tournament on Saturday with a 22 over par 310. But, the windy conditions were the most difficult of the four day, 72-hole tournament. The average score for the field on Saturday was 78.2.

Clemson's fifth place finish was its best at the NCAA National Tournament since 2003 when it won the National Championship at the Karsten Creek Course at Oklahoma State University. It was the program's ninth top five finish in history, its eighth under current head coach Larry Penley.

Van der Vaart finishes tied for ninth at NCAA Championship

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Virginia Tech golfer Jurrian van der Vaart shot a final round even-par 72 and completed his four rounds at the NCAA Men's Golf Championship with a nine-over-par 297, good for a tie for ninth place in his final collegiate event.

Van der Vaart's 72 in Saturday's final round was tied for the second-best round of the final day. He had two birdies and two bogies in the round. The championship was played Wednesday-Saturday at the 7,450-yard, par 72 Kampen Course of the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.

The senior from Almelo, the Netherlands' ninth place finish is the best-ever for a Hokie golfer, eclipsing Tim Collins' 20th place finish in the 1966 championship. The previous best for a Jay Hardwick coached Hokie was Brendon de Jonge's 22nd place finish in the 2001 tournament at Duke.

The third round had to be completed Saturday morning after a tornado warning caused a suspension in play on Friday afternoon. When the third round was completed, van der Vaart was in a three-way tie with Scott Langley of Illinois and Chadd Cocco of St. Mary's of California at 24th place.

The sudden-victory playoff began on the 17th hole, where all three players parred, as they did on the 18th hole. The three players returned to the 17th hole and all three recorded pars on the 208-yard, par three. On the second time on the 18th hole, van der Vaart birdied the 484-yard, par four while his competitors parred and he advanced to the final round, claiming the sixth and final individual slot.

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Wake Forest Misses Cut by Five Strokes at NCAA Championship

The No. 12 Wake Forest men's golf team posted a 17-over 305 and missed the cut for the final round by five strokes at the NCAA Championship in West Lafayette, Ind.

The Deacons finish the season ranked 12th in the country. The squad recorded two teams victories on the season, the General Jim Hackler Championship and the NCAA Central Regional.

Chris McCartin carded his best round of the championship with a one-over 73 in the two-day third round which was suspended Friday due to inclement weather. The senior was playing in his last event as a Demon Deacon.

Fellow senior Webb Simpson shot a six-over 78 in the third round. Simpson ends his season with two individual victories including the ACC Championship individual medal. Simpson was also named the ACC's Player of the Year and led the Deacs with a 70.3 stroke average entering the NCAA Championship.

UVa Golfers Finish 26th at NCAAs

West Lafayette, IN - The Virginia men's golf team was in 26th place after the third round of the NCAA Championships that were completed Saturday morning after being suspended Friday due to weather. The Cavaliers failed to make the 54-hole cut to advance to the final round which is also scheduled for Saturday.

The only unranked team in the field and the No. 30 seed, the Cavaliers shot 24-over 312 in the third round. UVa opened the tournament with a 312 and managed to shoot 307 in the second round. UVa's 54-hole total was 67-over 931. The 15th place team, Middle Tennessee State, was at 49-over 913 after three rounds.

Freshman Will Collins led UVa during the final round with the team's best effort of the week, carding a score of 1-under 71. After playing the front nine at 3-over, Collins used four birdies on the back side to break par and move up to 39th overall when the third round ended.