Gators struggle in final round of NCAA golf

OOLTEWAH, Tenn. – The Florida Gators men’s golf team found out how it feels to be driving 5 miles over the speed limit in the right lane.

It’s tough to keep pace when the college game’s elite Ferraris and Porsches are whizzing past as if you are standing still.

Starting the day inside the Top 8 – the number of teams that would qualify following Thursday’s final stroke-play round to play three days of match play to determine the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship team – Florida spent most of the day in a free fall from its fifth-place start. The Gators rallied late but not enough, finishing in a tie for 11th place at 5-over-par 869, one stroke out of a playoff with Stanford, Arizona State and San Diego that will be contested this morning.

And so coach Buddy Alexander’s Gators packed up their clubs at The Honors Course, the splendid Pete Dye-designed course in the hills near Chattanooga, to compete on the summer amateur circuit, their season over following a 5-over-par 293 that was better by 19 teams and equaled by three others.

As a veteran coach like Alexander, who has mentored two national championship teams at Florida, will tell you that kind of finish won’t get it done.

“(Our) finish is very disappointing,” Alexander said. “The guys battled back at the end but it’s definitely disappointing not to advance to match play. I think we would have been extremely tough to beat in match play.”

Leading the eight teams into today’s match-play quarterfinals is Oklahoma State, which closed with a 5-under-par 283 for a 14-under-par total of 850 that was four strokes better than Florida State, the 36-hole leader which followed its 9-under-par 279 Wednesday effort with a 4-over-292 Thursday finish that left the Seminoles at 10-under 854. Then came Georgia Tech (858), Washington (860), Oregon (861), Augusta State (863) and Texas Tech (867).

Florida ended up tied with Virginia, which started the day tied for 11th and ended up there following a 289 team total.

Redshirt junior Andres Exhavarria and freshman Phillip Choi had rounds of 1-over 73 to finish tied for 34th individually at even-par 216. Alexander’s son Tyson, a senior, closed with a 3-over 75 to finish at 4-over 220 (T64), while fellow senior Tim McKenney closed with a 76 for a 221 total (T72). Junior Bank Vongvanij had the day’s best round for the Gators – an even-par 72 that left him tied for 86th place at 222.

“Mostly I feel bad for the seniors,” the Florida coach continued. “We worked hard and I thought we would get it done. To come this far and not advance is devastating.”

Florida’s five golfers were a combined 10-over-par on the par-72, 7,395-yard Honors Course’s front nine. They played the final nine holes in 1-under-par, led by Vongvanij’s 3-under 33 effort that included four birdies.

Scott Langley of Illinois won the individual championship, shooting a 4-under-par 68 for the second straight day and finishing with a three-day total of 10-under-par 206. San Diego’s Alex Ching (73) and Oklahoma State’s Peter Uihlein (71) finished two strokes behind Langley at 208.

NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

THE HONORS COURSE / Ooltewah, Tenn. / 7,395 yards, par 72 / Host: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (Match play) / Quarterfinal results / Friday, June 4, 2010

Note: Number in parentheses before school is its seed for match play.

(5) OREGON 3, (4) WASHINGTON 2

1. Eugene Wong (O) def. Nick Taylor, 1 up;

2. Chris Williams (W) def. Daniel Miernicki, 2 and 1;

3. Andrew Vijarro (O) def. Richard Lee, 2 and 1;

4. Darren Wallace (W) def. Isaiah Telles, 2 and 1;

5. Jack Dukeminier (O) def. Charlie Hughes, 1 up.

(1) OKLAHOMA STATE 4, (8) STANFORD 1

1. Morgan Hoffmann (OSU) def. Steve Ziegler, 1 up;

2. David Chung (S) def. Peter Uihlein, 1 up;

3. Kevin Tway (OSU) def. Sihwan Kim, 5 and 4;

4. Trent Whitekiller (OSU) def. Andrew Yun, 1 up;

5. Sean Einhaus (OSU) def. Joseph Bramlett, 5 and 4.

(2) FLORIDA STATE 4, (7) TEXAS TECH 1

1. Drew Kittleson (FSU) def. Nils Floren, 2 and 1;

2. Brooks Koepka (FSU) def. Chris Ward, 2 up;

3. Seath Lauer (FSU) def. Matt Smith, 2 up;

4. Tyler Weworski (TT) def. Wesley Graham, 3 and 2;

5. Michael Hebert (FSU) def. Finley Ewing IV, 2 and 1.

(6) AUGUSTA STATE 3, (3) GEORGIA TECH 2

1. Henrik Norland (AS) def. John Tyler Griffin, 1 up;

2. Patrick Reed (AS) def. Chesson Hadley, 1 up;

3. James White (GT) def. Mitch Krywulycz, 2 and 1;

4. Kyle Scott (GT) def. Taylor Floyd, 1 up;

5. Carter Newman (AS) def. Paul Haley, 1 up.

Semifinal matchups / Saturday, June 5, 2010

(5) Oregon vs. (1) Oklahoma State

(6) Augusta State vs. (2) Florida State

Championship match / Sunday, June 6, 2010

Oregon/Oklahoma State winner vs. Augusta State/Florida State winner

STROKE PLAY / Third-round results / Thursday, June 3, 2010

Top 8 teams qualify for Team Match-Play Championship. x-Stanford won Friday morning playoff involving Arizona State and San Diego. y-lost playoff for final team spot.

1. OKLAHOMA STATE 850 (283-284-283) (-14)

T2. Peter Uihlein 208 (69-68-71) (-8); T14. Kevin Tway 213 (74-71-68) (-3); T18. Morgan Hoffmann 214 (70-70-74) (-2); T34. Trent Whitekiller 216 (70-76-70) (E); T111. Sean Einhaus 226 (75-75-76) (+10).

2. FLORIDA STATE 854 (283-279-292) (-10)

T6. Drew Kittleson 211 (70-70-71) (-5); T18. Brooks Koepka 214 (71-71-72) (-2); T18. Michael Hebert 214 (73-68-73) (-2); T58. Seath Lauer 219 (69-70-80) (+3); T90. Wesley Graham 223 (76-71-76) (+7).

3. GEORGIA TECH 858 (290-282-286) (-6)

T9. Paul Haley 212 (70-69-73) (-4); T14. Chesson Hadley 213 (72-72-69) (-3); T25. John Tyler Griffin 215 (71-72-72) (-1); T72. James White 221 (77-72-72) (+5); T72. Kyle Scott 221 (78-69-74) (+5).

4. WASHINGTON 860 (289-288-283) (-4)

T9. Chris Williams 212 (72-71-69) (-4); T41. Nick Taylor 217 (73-73-71) (+1); T41. Darren Wallace 217 (75-70-72) (+1); T51. Richard Lee 218 (70-77-71) (+2); T124. Charlie Hughes 228 (74-74-80) (+12).

5. OREGON 861 (284-294-283) (-3)

T9. Eugene Wong 212 (69-72-71) (-4); T34. Jack Dukeminier 216 (74-76-66) (E); T51. Isaiah Telles 218 (71-75-72) (+2); T72. Andrew Vijarro 221 (76-71-74) (+5); T103. Daniel Miernicki 225 (70-80-75) (+9).

6. AUGUSTA STATE 863 (287-288-288) (-1)

5. Henrik Norlander 210 (68-69-73) (-6); T51. Mitch Krywulycz 218 (72-74-72) (+2); T58. Patrick Reed 219 (74-75-70) (+3); T72. Taylor Floyd 221 (73-70-78) (+5); T146. Carter Newman 233 (77-83-73) (+17).

7. TEXAS TECH 867 (302-285-280) (+3)

T14. Chris Ward 213 (75-71-67) (-3); T25. Tyler Weworski 215 (74-71-70) (-1); T51. Matt Smith 218 (80-71-67) (+2); T90. Nils Floren 223 (75-72-76) (+7); T148. Finley Ewing IV 234 (78-78-78) (+18).

T8. x-STANFORD 868 (292-288-288) (+4)

T14. Sihwan Kim 213 (71-71-71) (-3); T34. Andrew Yun 216 (74-73-69) (E); T41. Steve Ziegler 217 (72-71-74) (+1); T95. Joseph Bramlett 224 (75-73-76) (+8); T116. David Chung 227 (78-75-74) (+11).

Did not qualify

T8. y-ARIZONA STATE 868 (286-292-290) (+4)

T41. Scott Pinckney 217 (74-70-73) (+1); T41. James Byrne 217 (74-73-70) (+1); T72. Knut Borsheim 221 (70-77-74) (+5); T86. Jesper Kennegard 222 (68-77-77) (+6); T111. Braxton Marquez 226 (81-72-73) (+10).

T8. y-SAN DIEGO 868 (294-282-292) (+4)

T2. Alex Ching 208 (69-66-73) (-8); T25. Gunner Wiebe 215 (75-68-72) (-1); T103. Kenneth McCready 225 (74-79-72) (+9); T124. Jason Shano 228 (76-73-79) (+12); T128. Scott Brace 229 (79-75-75) (+13).

T11. FLORIDA 869 (287-289-293) (+5)

T34. Andres Echavarria 216 (73-70-73) (E); T34. Phillip Choi 216 (69-74-73) (E); T64. Tyson Alexander 220 (73-72-75) (+4); T72. Tim McKenney 221 (72-73-76) (+5); T86. Bank Vongvanij 222 (73-77-72) (+6).

T11. VIRGINIA 869 (300-280-289) (+5)

T25. Will Collins 215 (74-70-71) (-1); T34. Kyle Stough 216 (74-69-73) (E); T51. Ben Kohles 218 (72-75-71) (+2); T111. Henry Smart 226 (82-66-78) (+10); T146. Amory Davis 233 (80-79-74) (+17).

13. TEXAS A&M 871 (285-304-282) (+7)

T18. Ignacio Elvira 214 (70-75-69) (-2); T18. Cameron Peck 214 (70-72-72) (-2); T64. Andrea Pavan 220 (71-76-73) (+4); T116. Conrad Shindler 227 (74-81-72) (+11); T135. Jordan Russell 230 (79-82-69) (+14).

14. NORTH FLORIDA 872 (292-293-287) (+8)

T25. Sean Dale 215 (72-74-69) (-1); T41. J.C. Horne 217 (73-74-70) (+1); T111. Kevin Phelan 226 (72-71-83) (+10); T116. Joe Byun 227 (75-76-76) (+11); T128. Jordan Gibb 229 (83-74-72) (+13).

15. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 874 (295-290-289) (+10)

T25. T.J. Vogel 215 (74-72-69) (-1); T41. Steve Lim 217 (74-72-71) (+1); T64. Matthew Giles 220 (73-75-72) (+4); T95. Martin Trainer 224 (75-71-78) (+8); T111. Sam Smith 226 (74-75-77) (+10).

T16. OREGON STATE 875 (295-293-287) (+11)

4. Diego Velasquez 209 (71-72-66) (-7); T72. Morten Madsen 221 (77-71-73) (+5); T90. Alex Moore 223 (79-71-73) (+7); T128. Mike Barry 229 (71-79-79) (+13); T139. Nick Sherwood 231 (76-80-75) (+15).

T16. CLEMSON 875 (286-291-298) (+11)

T9. Ben Martin 212 (70-72-70) (-4); T72. Luke Hopkins 221 (69-74-78) (+5); T72. Corbin Mills 221 (74-72-75) (+5); T103. Jacob Burger 225 (73-77-75) (+9); T152. Crawford Reeves 235 (84-73-78) (+19).

T16. UCLA 875 (294-286-295) (+11)

T9. Gregor Main 212 (71-69-72) (-4); T58. Pontus Widegren 219 (69-71-79) (+3); T90. Alex Kim 223 (76-73-74) (+7); T116. Pedro Figueiredo 227 (78-73-76) (+11); T148. Mario Clemens 234 (80-81-73) (+18).

19. ILLINOIS 876 (304-285-287) (+12)

1. Scott Langley 206 (70-68-68) (-10); T64. Chris DeForest 220 (76-72-72) (+4); T86. Luke Guthrie 222 (81-70-71) (+6); T128. Zach Barlow 229 (77-75-77) (+13); T154. Matt Hoffman 238 (83-79-76) (+22).

20. KENT STATE 877 (292-293-292) (+13)

T6. John Hahn 211 (72-70-69) (-5); T41. Mackenzie Hughes 217 (74-70-73) (+1); T72. Kevin Miller 221 (70-75-76) (+5); T128. Isaac Charette 229 (76-79-74) (+13); T154. Brett Cairns 238 (78-78-82) (+22).

T21. UNLV 879 (294-292-293) (+15)

T26. Derek Ernst 215 (72-71-72) (-1); T64. Kevin Penner 220 (77-72-71) (+4); T103. Eddie Olson 225 (74-75-76) (+9); T103. Brett Kanda 225 (76-74-75) (+9); T116. Colby Smith 227 (72-80-75) (+11).

T21. TEXAS 879 (290-296-293) (+15)

T51. Bobby Hudson 218 (74-70-74) (+2); T64. Cody Gribble 220 (75-76-69) (+4); T64. Lance Lopez 220 (69-75-76) (+4); T72. Dylan Frittelli 221 (72-75-74) (+5); T148. Charlie Holland 234 (75-80-79) (+18).

23. CALIFORNIA 880 (293-294-293) (+16)

T41. Michael Weaver 217 (75-73-69) (+1); T86. Max Homa 222 (79-71-72) (+6); T95. Stephen Hale 224 (74-77-73) (+8); T95. Eric Mina 224 (72-73-79) (+8); T135. Brandon Hagy 230 (72-77-81) (+14).

24. LOUISIANA STATE 883 (303-290-290) (+19)

T6. John Peterson 211 (73-68-70) (-5); T72. Andrew Loupe 221 (75-72-74) (+5); T95. Clayton Rotz 224 (77-73-74) (+8); T128. Austin Gutgsell 229 (78-79-72) (+13); T135. Sang Yi 230 (78-77-75) (+14).

T25. BAYLOR 884 (294-295-295) (+20)

T25. Lorenzo Scotto 215 (76-69-80) (-1); T90. Ryan O’Rear 223 (69-77-77) (+7); T95. Payne Gniewek 224 (75-75-74) (+8); T95. Cody Paladino 224 (76-74-74) (+8); T135. Joakim Mikkelsen 230 (74-79-77) (+14).

T25. TENNESSEE 884 (297-292-295) (+20)

T25. David Holmes 215 (72-73-70) (-1); T51. Garrick Porteous 218 (73-70-75) (+2); T58. Robin Wingardh 219 (74-72-73) (+3); T141. Jay Vandeventer 232 (78-77-77) (+16); T154. Darren Renwick 238 (82-77-79) (+22).

T27. DUKE 889 (296-297-296) (+25)

T41. Wes Roach 217 (69-73-75) (+1); T64. Adam Long 220 (73-75-72) (+4); T103. Brinson Paolini 225 (76-75-74) (+9); T128. Spencer Anderson 229 (78-74-77) (+13); T139. Julian Suri 231 (79-77-75) (+15).

T27. TEXAS CHRISTIAN 889 (302-296-291) (+25)

T58. Johan de Beer 219 (74-73-72) (+3); T58. Travis Woolf 219 (76-70-73) (+3); T116. Daniel Jennevret 227 (78-78-71) (+11); T124. Eli Cole 228 (74-76-78) (+12); T141. Pontus Gad 232 (80-77-75) (+16).

29. PENN STATE 898 (301-298-299) (+34)

T72. TJ Howe 221 (76-74-71) (+5); T116. Kevin Foley 227 (79-76-72) (+11); T116. Ernie Marin 227 (77-72-78) (+11); T141. Tommy McDonagh 232 (71-76-85) (+16); T148. Jim Markovitz 234 (77-79-78) (+18).

30. GEORGIA SOUTHERN 905 (297-299-309) (+41)

T72. Spencer Fulford 221 (71-74-76) (+5); T95. Logan Blondell 224 (73-74-77) (+8); T141. Florian Sander 232 (77-79-76) (+16); T141. Ryan Zabroske 232 (76-76-80) (+16); T152. Matt Deal 235 (79-75-81) (+19).

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

54-hole competition to determine Team Match-Play Championship qualifiers and also Men’s Individual Champion:

1. 206 (-10): Scott Langley (Illinois) 70-68-68.

T2. 208 (-8): Alex Ching (San Diego) 69-66-73; Peter Uihlein (Oklahoma State) 69-68-71.

4. 209 (-7): Diego Velasquez (Oregon State) 71-72-66.

5. 210 (-6): Henrik Norlander (Augusta State) 68-69-73.

T6. 211 (-5): Drew Kittleson (Florida State) 70-70-71; John Hahn (Kent State) 72-70-69; John Peterson (Louisiana State) 73-68-70.

T9. 212 (-4): Ben Martin (Clemson) 70-72-70; Chris Williams (Washington) 72-71-69; Eugene Wong (Oregon) 69-72-71; Gregor Main (UCLA) 71-69-72; Paul Haley (Georgia Tech) 70-69-73.

T14. 213 (-3): Chesson Hadley (Georgia Tech) 71-71-69; Chris Ward (Texas Tech) 75-71-67; Kevin Tway (Oklahoma State) 74-71-68; Sihwan Kim (Stanford) 71-71-71.

T18. 214 (-2): Brooks Koepka (Florida State) 71-71-72; Cameron Peck (Texas A&M) 70-72-72; Ignacio Elvira (Texas A&M) 70-75-69; Michael Hebert (Florida State) 73-68-73; Morgan Hoffman (Oklahoma Stste) 70-70-74; Robbie Fillmore (Brigham Young) 74-71-69; Russell Henley (Georgia) 71-73-70.

T25. 215 (-1): David Holmes (Tennessee) 72-73-70; Derek Ernst (UNLV) 72-71-72; Gunner Wiebe (San Diego) 75-68-72; John Tyler Griffin (Georgia Tech) 71-72-72; Lorenzo Scotto (Bryant) 76-69-70; Sean Dale (North Florida) 72-74-69; T.J. Vogel (Southern California) 74-72-69; Tyler Weworski (Texas Tech) 74-71-70; Will Collins (Virginia) 74-70-71.

T34. 216 (E): Andres Echavarria (Florida) 73-70-73; Andrew Yun (Stanford) 74-73-79; Jack Dukeminier (Oregon) 74-76-66; Kyle Stough (Virginia) 74-69-73; Phillip Choi (Florida) 69-74-73; Rhys Enoch (East Tennessee State) 72-74-70; Trent Whitekiller (Oklahoma State) 70-76-70.

T41. 217 (+1): Darren Wallace (Washington) 75-70-72; J.C. Horne (North Florida) 73-74-70; James Byrne (Arizona State) 74-73-70; Mackenzie Hughes (Kent State) 74-70-73; Michael Weaver (California) 75-73-69; Nick Taylor (Washington) 73-73-71; Scott Pinckney (Arizona State) 74-70-73; Steve Lim (Southern California) 74-72-71; Steve Ziegler (Stanford) 72-71-74; Wes Roach (Duke) 69-73-75).