UH Golf Team Ties For 20th At NCAAs
5/31/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 31, 2001
Durham, N.C. - Led by the veteran tandem of senior Andy Sanders and junior Wade Ormsby the University of Houston golf team posted a one-over par 289 for one of the best second round scores of any team Thursday afternoon at the NCAA Championships in Durham, North Carolina. Houston's best 18 holes since mid April helped the Cougars move up seven spots in the team standings but it came up just short of making the cut of 15 teams to advance to the finals on Saturday and Sunday.
Ormsby will remain at the championship as an individual competitor after completing the first 36 holes at one-under par (143) and tied for 14th place overall in the 156-player field. The junior from Australia is 10 srokes off the lead at the halfway point of the 72-hole tournament at the Duke University Golf Course.
Ormsby and his Cougar teammates made a solid run at making the cut for a fifth-consecutive year at the NCAAs. Houston however needed something of a miraculous run. A 16-over par score (304) from the opening round (Wednesday) put UH in an unenviable come-from-behind position of 27th place in the 30-team field. As the scores remained fairly high Thursday Ormsby and Sanders kept Houston's hopes alive. At the end of the day there were only five scores better than UH's 289, but the margin from the day before was just to much to overcome.
"I thought we played well but that 304 had us in a hole," said Houston head coach Mike Dirks. "We still had a late chance to make today's playoff (for the 15th spot between three teams) but we struggled on the second to last hole (No. 8 on Thursday). That means we had to force something on nine (UH's last of the day) and we were out of holes by then.
"Wade did a nice job making it as an individual and that was good to see," Dirks added. "This is good for him because he will be a key like Andy was this seeason."
Sanders, the team's lone senior at the NCAAs, completed his UH career with a one-under par 71. He finished tied for 81st with a 36-hole total of 6-over 150. Sophomore Simon Robinson carded a one-over par 73 Thursday for a seven-over 151. Freshmen Brad McIntosh and Scott Ferguson shot a 74 and 75 respectively to give the Cougars a 289.
Ormsby is 10-strokes behind individual leader Ricky Barnes of Arizona heading into Friday's round. He will tee-off in the second-to-last group of the day at 9:18 a.m. 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)
Pl. Team Score vs. Par
1. Arizona 280-289--569 - 7
2. Florida 296-278--574 - 2
3. Wake Forest 294-282--576 Even
t 4. Augusta State 292-288--580 + 4
t 4. Georgia 294-284--580 + 4
6. Georgia Tech 289-292--581 + 5
7. East Tennessee St. 293-289--582 + 6
8. Clemson 294-291--583 + 7
t 9. Oklahoma 294-291--585 + 9
t 9. Virginia Tech 294-291--585 + 9
t 11. Arizona State 298-288--586 + 10
t 11. UAB 297-289--586 + 10
13. SMU 298-289--586 + 11
t 14. Oregon State 295-295--590 + 14
t 14. Pacific 299-291--590 + 14
(Oregon State and Pacific won playoff over the College of Charleston to make
the cut at 15)
t 14. Coll. of Charleston 294-296--590 + 14
17. UCLA 299-292--591 + 15
t 18. Mississippi 296-296--592 + 16
t 18. Toledo 292-300--592 + 16
t 20. Houston 304-289--593 + 17
t 20. South Carolina 295-298--593 + 17
t 20. Minnesota 296-297--593 + 17
t 20. Stanford 297-296--593 + 17
t 24. Oklahoma St. 300-294--594 + 18
t 24. Georgia Southern 302-292--594 + 18
26. Washington 301-297--598 + 22
27. N.C. State 298-301--599 + 23
28. Purdue 310-292--602 + 26
29. UC Irvine 306-306--612 + 36
30. Kent State 310-310--620 + 44
Individual Leaders & Houston Scores
Pl. Player, School Scores vs. Par
1. Ricky Barnes, Arizona 68-65--133 - 11
t 2. Jamie Elson, Augusta St. 73-65--138 - 6
t 2. Chez Reavie, Augusta St. 71-67--138 - 6
t 2. Troy McKinley, Pacific 70-68--138 - 6
t 2. Kris Mikkelsen, GA Tech 66-72--138 - 6
Houston scores...
t 14. Wade Ormsby, UH 72-71--143 - 1
t 61. Brad McIntosh, UH 75-74--149 + 5
t 81. Andy Sanders, UH 79-71--150 + 6
t 102. Simon Robinson, UH 78-73--151 + 7
t 139. Scott Ferguson, UH 80-75--155 + 11