Beavers Conclude Spring?s Opening Tourney
WAIKOLOA, Hawai’i – The Oregon State men’s golf team wrapped up the highly-competitive 24th Annual Amer Ari Invitational in 14th place on Saturday in its first event of the spring season.
The Beavers finished the three-day, 54-hole tournament with a 5-under 280-293-285--859 at the par-72, 7,074-yard Waikoloa Kings’ Course. Arizona State fired a 17 under in the final round to claim the team title by two strokes over Washington in the 18-team field, which included 14 teams ranked among the top 50 in the nation by golstat.com.
To put in perspective the strength of the field, Oregon State needed to equal its school record (27-under 825) to finish in eighth place.
“I’m proud of the guys for the effort they gave to begin the round today,” Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn said. “In the past we’ve had a poor day and not really responded very well. Today was different.
“Toward the end of the round, the wind began blowing and we didn’t commit to the difficult shots we needed to. Unfortunately, the lost shots on the seventh and ninth holes turned what could have been a good day into pretty average."
| 14 | Oregon State | 280 | 293 | 286 | 859 |
| T32 | Kevin Murphy (1) | 69 | 73 | 69 | 211 |
| T63 | Conner Kumpula (3) | 71 | 72 | 73 | 216 |
| T63 | Alex Franklin (4) | 70 | 74 | 72 | 216 |
| T68 | Brian Jung (2) | 70 | 76 | 72 | 218 |
| T78 | Chris Tedesco (5) | 73 | 74 | 74 | 221 |
Sophomore Kevin Murphy shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday, equaling his opening round of the tourney, to move seven spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 32nd place with a 5-under 69-73-69--211. He had four birdies and one bogey in a very clean final round.
Senior Alex Franklin and sophomore Conner Kumpula both finished in a tie for 63rd place with an even-par 216, as Franklin went 70-74-72 and Kumplua shot rounds of 71-72-73.
Junior Brian Jung shot a 2-over 70-76-72--218 to finish in a tie for 68th place and junior Chris Tedesco finished with a 5-over 73-74-74--221 for a tie for 78th.
Cheng-Tsung Pen of Washington led wire-to-wire to claim medalist honors with a 17-under 199, while Maverick McNealy of Stanford finished second (15-under 201).
The Beavers have two weeks off before returning to action at the Wyoming Desert Invitational in Palm Springs, Calif., a three-day tournament that begins on Friday, Feb. 20.
“What’s important now is to learn from our mistakes this week and continue to work hard at home to be ready for Palm Springs in two weeks,” Reehoorn said. “Everyone has been playing well at home. It simply comes down to a belief in themselves and commitment to each shot.”
