UH Golf 27th After Opening Round Of NCAA Championships
5/30/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 30, 2001
DURHAM, N.C. - The University of Houston golf team experienced both the high and low of trying for an unprecedented 17th national title Wednesday afternoon at the NCAA Championship Tournament this week at the Duke Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina. UH began with an emotional high and played well, but when the last score of the day finally came in, the Cougars stumbled to 27th place and are now faced with an uphill challenge to make the cut of the 30-team field.
With a mid-morning tee time for the opening round, the Cougars stormed out to rank as an early leader at the national tournament. Houston, with its prestigious history well known throughout college golf, caught the tournament's attention when it made the morning turn at the 7,086-yard, par-72 Duke University course at a stunning two-under par as a team. Three UH players were one-under at 35 and a fourth was just one-over.
After the turn, however, the Cougars began to struggle on the back nine and its lead diminished while the scores began to rise. Four players shot in the 40s and UH ended the day with a team score of 16-over par 304. It was tied for Houston's second-worst round of the year and marked only the second time UH had scored in the 300s in the last 15 rounds dating back to early April. UH ended the day a full 24 shots off the lead of Arizona (280, -8) and will have to have an exceptional second round Thursday afternoon to make the cut at 15 teams.
"This was a real roller-coaster ride for us today and the work is cut out for us pretty clearly now," said Houston head coach Mike Dirks. "I know it was awefully early to think we were leading the national championship tournament, but quite frankly we were for the morning teams. There are high standards for Houston golf which we want to meet and this was part of it.
"We had some mental mistakes, which you can't do at this level," Dirks added. "We have to bounce back tomorrow and that could get us on a roll.
Houston was paced by junior Wade Ormsby, who scored an even-par 72 to tie for 20th place through the first round. Ormsby was the only Cougar to play the back-nine under par (35) after starting the front-nine at one-over. True freshman Brad McIntosh was three-over (75) while sophomore Simon Robinson shot a 78. Senior Andy Sanders carded a 79 while freshman Scott Ferguson finished with an 80 after shooting a 35 at the turn.
Two players, Chris Nallen of Arizona and Kris Mikkelsen of Georgia Tech, are tied for the top individual spot in the 156-player field with identical scores of six-under par 66. Team and individual Houston scores are listed below.
2001 NCAA National Championships Team Standings (18 Holes)
Duke University Golf Club - Durham, NC (Par 72 - 7,086 Yards)
1. Arizona 280 - 8
2. Georgia Tech 289 + 1
t 3. Augusta State 292 + 4
t 3. Toledo 292 + 4
5. East Tennessee St. 293 + 5
t 6. Clemson 294 + 5
t 6. Coll. of Charleston 294 + 6
t 6. Georgia 294 + 6
t 6. Oklahoma 294 + 6
t 6. Virginia Tech 294 + 6
t 6. Wake Forest 294 + 6
t 12. Oregon State 295 + 7
t 12. South Carolina 295 + 7
t 14. Florida 296 + 8
t 14. Minnessota 296 + 8
t 14. Mississippi 296 + 8
t 17. Stanford 297 + 9
t 17. UAB 297 + 9
t 19. Arizona State 298 + 10
t 19. N.C. State 298 + 10
t 19. SMU 298 + 10
t 22. Pacific 299 + 11
t 22. UCLA 299 + 11
24. Oklahoma St. 300 + 12
25. Washington 301 + 13
26. Georgia Southern 302 + 14
27. Houston 304 + 16
28. UC Irvine 306 + 18
t 29. Kent State 310 + 22
t 29. Purdue 310 + 22
Individual Leaders & Houston Scores
t 1. Chris Nallen, Arizona 33-33--66 - 6
t 1. Kris Mikkelsen, GA Tech 33-33--66 - 6
Houston scores...
t. 20 Wade Ormsby, UH 37-35--72 Even
Brad McIntosh, UH 35-40--75 + 3
Simon Robinson, UH 35-43--78 + 6
Andy Sanders, UH 39-40--79 + 7
Scott Ferguson, UH 35-45--80 + 8