Late Rally Falls Just Short For Men's Golf At NCAA Regionals
May 18, 2013
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Oregon State men's golf team shot the epic score it needed in the final round of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional on Saturday, a 10-under 278, but the late rally fell one stroke short of advancing to the NCAA Championships.
Oregon State had four players shoot in red figures in the final round, led by a 5-under 67 by junior David Fink, to post the best score of the day among the 13-team field and equal the sixth-lowest score in school history. The 10-under round helped the Beavers leapfrog intrastate rival Oregon and finish in seventh place with a 9-under 292-285-278--855 at the par-72, 6,965-yard Golden Eagle Golf and Country Club.
The top five teams at the Tallahassee Regional advance to the NCAA Championships, and Oklahoma and South Florida finished in a tie for fifth place with a 10-under 854. The Sooners punched the final ticket with a playoff win and will join North Florida, Washington, Florida State and Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga., for the championship.
"Most teams in our position would have assumed they had no chance," Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn said. "But our guys competed until the very end and that is what we want our program to be about; to fight to the very end, because you just never know.
| 7 | Oregon State | 292 | 285 | 278 | 855 |
| T5 | David Fink (1) | 70 | 69 | 67 | 206 |
| T29 | Nick Sherwood (3) | 77 | 69 | 70 | 216 |
| T38 | Nick Chianello (2) | 76 | 73 | 70 | 219 |
| T38 | Matt Rawitzer (4) | 70 | 74 | 75 | 219 |
| T49 | Brian Jung (5) | 76 | 74 | 71 | 221 |
"It's not easy and the more I think about it the tougher it is," Reehoorn said about finishing one stroke out of the top five. "But to post the low round of the day by a couple shots and actually give ourselves a chance was great."
Fink had his `A' game all three days as he shot a career-best 10-under 70-69-67--206 to finish in a tie for fifth place and equal the fifth-lowest three-round score in Oregon State history. His previous best was a 9-under 207 at the Amer Ari Invitational earlier this spring.
The junior followed up Friday's birdie run of seven with six more on Saturday, to go with a single bogey, and equal his best career round with a 5-under 67, which he had shot two times previously, most recently at the Pac-12 Preview in Hillsboro, Ore., this past fall.
The top individual at regionals, who isn't on one of the five qualifying teams, also advances to the NCAA Championships, but Fink finished two strokes behind Daniel Walker of Richmond.
"Dave has been great all season," Reehoorn said. "He really has come into his own and believes he belongs with the elite in college golf. In addition to his ability, I'm just as excited about what he will bring to a young team next season with his leadership."
The excellent final round was bittersweet for Reehoorn as it was the last time seniors Nick Chianello, Matt Rawitzer and Nick Sherwood will compete for Oregon State.
"I'm disappointed their careers ended one tournament too early," Reehoorn said of his seniors. "But I'm thankful for everything they have given us. Each of them has played a huge role in our continued success and they will be missed. But they have helped set the bar a little higher for those who will follow them."
Chianello and Sherwood gave it everything they had in their final round of college competition as they both fired a 2-under 70 with each carding four birdies and two bogeys. Sherwood bounced back from a tough opening round to finish in a tie for 29th place with an even-par 77-69-70--216, while Chianello did the same to finish in a tie for 38th place with a 3-over 76-73-70--219.
Rawitzer started the regionals with a team-tying best score of 2-under 70 but was unable to hit red numbers in the final two rounds, as he finished in a tie for 38th with a 3-over 70-74-75--219.
Redshirt freshman Brian Jung gained valuable experience at the NCAA Regionals and will be relied on in the future with the graduation of the three seniors. He accounted for the Beavers' fourth score on Saturday with a 1-under 71 to help him jump 10 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 49th with a 5-over 76-74-71--221.
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| Course:Golden Eagle Country Club: NCAA Regional Par 72 - 6965 Yards |
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| current position |
team | scoring | rounds | total score |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| to par | thru | today | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 |
|
-34 | F | -7 | 272 | 277 | 281 | 830 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 |
|
-31 | F | -6 | 276 | 275 | 282 | 833 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 |
|
-28 | F | -5 | 277 | 276 | 283 | 836 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 |
|
-15 | F | -3 | 280 | 284 | 285 | 849 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T5 |
|
-10 | F | +1 | 284 | 281 | 289 | 854 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T5 |
|
-10 | F | +2 | 280 | 284 | 290 | 854 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The top 5 teams advance to the Championship (Ties will be resolved.) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 |
|
-9 | F | -10 | 292 | 285 | 278 | 855 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 |
|
-8 | F | +6 | 280 | 282 | 294 | 856 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 |
|
+10 | F | +4 | 289 | 293 | 292 | 874 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 |
|
+14 | F | +10 | 284 | 296 | 298 | 878 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 |
|
+19 | F | +6 | 299 | 290 | 294 | 883 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 |
|
+26 | F | +8 | 299 | 295 | 296 | 890 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 |
|
+28 | F | +3 | 301 | 300 | 291 | 892 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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