Men's Golf Makes History
May 31, 2001
DURHAM, N.C. - The Oregon State men's golf team made history on Thursday afternoon by making the cut and advancing to the final two rounds of the NCAA Championships for the first time in the history of the program.
The Beavers scrambled all afternoon at the par-72, 7,086-yard Duke University Golf Club, but played one of their guttiest rounds of the year in a pressure-cooker situation and came up with their second-consecutive 295 to put them in a tie for 15th at 590 for the championship. The Beavers forced a three-way playoff with the College of Charleston and Pacific for the last two spots to make the cut for the top 15 teams to advance to the final two rounds on Friday and Saturday.
The three squads played holes one, two, 17, 18 and 10 in the playoff, with the first-through-fifth players playing those holes, respectively. The low four scores were counted for each team.
As was the case all day, Oregon State made crucial putts, advancing after the first playoff hole when they came up with a combined even-par. Pacific and the College of Charleston settled nothing after they each went 3-over, but Pacific advanced on the next playoff hole by going even-par.
"It was just a gamut of emotions over the last few holes," OSU coach Mike Ketcham said. "With three holes to go, I knew we had some opportunities to make birdies. I knew we were right on the bubble, and we played the last three holes decently, but it's amazing when you add up all the shots how close it comes. It seems like it's been that way all year for us.
"I'm so proud of them," Ketcham continued. "To be able to go back out into a playoff and put your emotions in check and play as hard as they did is pretty impressive. They're a great group of kids, and we look forward to playing the next two days. If we could finish in the top 10 of this golf tournament, we will have accomplished a goal that we set at the beginning of the year. What a way to cap off the season."
The main task for Ketcham and assistant coach Brian Watts was to get the players to refocus for the playoff.
"I felt the guys were a little down after their round, because they felt like they left some opportunities on the golf course on the last three holes, being that you have two par-5s, and we did not take advantage of those two holes the way I thought we would," Ketcham said. "They felt like, as a group, they let each other down. I told them before they went out, the other two schools have the same exact story you do: every one of them feels like they left a shot here or there. We just needed to get over it and get focused on the matter at hand and go out and find a way to play those playoff holes in even-par. They did a wonderful job."
Anthony Arvidson, playing the No. 1 hole in the playoff, plopped a 7-iron to within three feet on his approach shot, and after waiting for the other two players to finish out, dropped the putt for a birdie.
"I had about two-and-a-half or three feet, and I'm thinking, 'If I miss it, it's going six or seven feet by the hole,'" Arvidson said of his playoff putt. "I stepped up to the putt and told myself, 'just make it', and I did, I got it started down the hill and rolled it in the cup. It was a matter of remembering a time when I had made a big putt. It's a good feeling.
"Yarnes, for the second day in a row, made a big putt on the last hole to get us into the playoff, which was huge," Arvidson continued. "I couldn't pull through today - my putting just left me and I didn't make anything all day. It's great that these guys came through today - it's nice."
David Williams and Michael Jurgensen each parred their playoff holes, while Daren Grieg saved bogie and David Yarnes doubled.
OSU was nearly eliminated from contention after starting the day in seventh, as they slowly slid down the leaderboard over their first nine and found themselves on the outside looking in after dropping to 17th at one point.
The Beavers played the final hole however, No. 9, in 2-under Thursday, as both Yarnes and Grieg birdied the 491-yard, par-5 ninth.
Jurgensen, in the No. 3 position, turned in the low score for the Beavs with a 72. The sophomore played the first nine holes in 1-under 35, which included three birdies, and was steady down the homestretch with eight pars for a 37. Jurgensen is tied for 37th with a 146.
"I hit every green on the back nine, so that made it easier for me, and I was able to play solid all day," Jurgensen said of his round. "I've been playing well since the week before Pac-10s, the coaches helped me out with the greens, since I've had a hard time putting this year, and I've been putting well since they worked with me on that. These are great coaches."
Yarnes' round of 73 included three birdies over the final nine holes, as he came in with a 35. No putt was bigger, however, than the eight-footer he faced for birdie on nine. Yarnes, arguably the strongest putter on the squad, calmly dropped the putt to help the Beavers to a playoff. Yarnes, a junior, is tied for 53rd.
Williams, who is tied for 81st with a 150, played the five postition and teed off first for the Beavers. The freshman steadied the squad down the stretch as he birdied holes seven and eight to bring his round down to 75.
The course yielded only one birdie for Arvidson, though the senior continually bombarded the pin throughout. Arvidson, who was able to shrug off the putting difficulties to sink the crucial playoff birdie, finished with a 3-over 75 and stands at 146 in a tie for 37th.
Grieg's round was up and down over his first nine, but the redshirt freshman came up with three birdies on the back to finish with a 37. Grieg carded a 76 for a two-round total of 154 and a tie for 130th.
Individually, Arizona's Ricky Barnes shot out to a five-shot lead over four other golfers with his 11-under 133, which included a course-record tying 65 Thursday. Augusta State's Jamie Elson also posted a second-round 65, and is among the four tied for second at 138.
Arizona's 1-over 289 on Thursday put them at 569, which was good for a five stroke cushion over Florida, which burned the track for a 10-under second-round 278.
OSU also played in the NCAA Championships in 1973 and 1994, when they finished 25th.
The Beavers tee off on hole 10 Friday morning at 7:39, and will be grouped with Southern Methodist and Pacific.
TEAM SCORES
1. Arizona 280-289--569, 2. Florida 296-278--574, 3. Wake Forest
294-282--576, 4. Augusta State 292-288--580, 4. Georgia 296-284--580, 6.
Georgia Tech 289-292--581, 7. E. Tenn. St. 293-289--582, 8. Clemson
294-289--583, 9. Oklahoma 294-291--585, 9. Virginia Tech 294-291--585, 11.
Arizona State 298-288--586, 11. UAB 297-289--586, 13. SMU 298-289--587, 14.
*Oregon State 295-295--590, 14. *Pacific 299-291--590, 14. Coll. of
Charleston 294-296--590, 17. UCLA 299-292--591, 18. Mississippi
296-296--592, 18. Toledo 292-300--592, 20. South Carolina 295-298--593, 20.
Houston 3-4-289--593, 20. Minnesota 296-297--593, 20. Stanford 297-296--593,
24. Oklahoma State 300-294--594, 24. Georgia Southern 302-292--594, 26.
Washington 301-297--598, 27. North Carolina State 298-301--599, 28. Purdue
310-292--602, 29. UC-Irvine 306-306--612, 30. Kent State 310-310--620.
LOW INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1. Ricky Barnes, Arizona 68-65--133, 2. Jamie Elson, Augusta State
73-65--138, 2. Chez Reavie, Arizona State 71-67--138, 2. Troy McKinley,
Pacific 70-68--138, 2. Kris Mikkelsen, Georgia Tech 66-72--138.
OREGON STATE
t37. Michael Jurgensen 74-72--146, t37. Anthony Arvidson 71-75--146, t53.
David Yarnes 75-73--148, t81. Daren Grieg
78-76--154.
