University of Washington
Gifford Intercollegiate
Huskies Battle Tough Conditions at Gifford Collegiate Championship
November 08, 2010 | Men's Golf
Nov. 8, 2010
• UW Golf on Facebook
• Husky Golf Blog
• Golfstat.com Live Scoring
SAN MARTIN, Calif. - The Husky men's golf team survived adverse conditions during the first round of the 6th Annual Gifford Collegiate Championship on Monday and are third out of 12 teams after shooting a 370 (+15).
High winds and heavy rough wreaked havoc on the field at CordeValle Resort, causing team scores to climb into double-digits over par. Only three competitors out of 76 shot under par at the 7,169-yard, par-71 course.
For much of the day, Washington led the field. The Dawgs held a four-stroke lead with just two holes remaining, before the wheels fell off the wagon.
"Most of the guys haven't seen the course and it played so tough -- six-inch roughs everywhere that were long and wet, and heavy winds today," said Husky coach Matt Thurmond, whose team is playing in it final fall tournament. "I thought we showed great maturity and competitiveness. We didn't end very well and we'll learn a lot from that. I was excited with the way we competed and I think it was a big step in the right direction and we learned alot about what it takes to play in tough conditions."
Charlie Hughes was among those taming the course and was 3-under through 14 holes. But, eventually the conditions caught up to the UW sophomore, as he bogeyed No. 15, tripled No. 17 and doubled No. 18. He had to settle for 3-over 74, which is still good enough for 13th among individuals entering the second round.
"I felt bad for Charlie," said an empathetic Thurmond. "He really had a wonderful round until the last couple of holes, but he'll be better from it and learned a lot."
UCLA's Patrick Canlay is leading the field after firing a 4-under 67. The host Bruins are also leading the team portion of the tournament, combining for a 367 (+12). Stanford is one stroke behind UCLA.
The tournament is unique in its format in that each team plays six golfers, with five counting towards the team total.
Leading the way for the Dawgs is freshman Cory McElyea. He shot a 1-over 72 and is tied for fifth. McElyea had a relatively clean scorecard, with a double on No. 6 and a bogey on No. 12 to negate a pair of birdies on No. 13 and No. 16.
Freshman Trevor Simsby and junior Kevin Spooner both copied Hughes' 3-over 74 and are tied for 13th. Simsby is making his first Husky appearance in the UW "A" lineup, while Spooner is making his first appearance of the season.
Sophomore Chris Williams entered the tournament as UW's No. 1 player but struggled for much of the day. He still finished in the top-half of the field with a 5-over 76 to tie for 33rd.
Junior Ty Chambers is tied for 70th after shooting a 10-over 81.
Play resumes tomorrow from the CordeValle Resort, located just outside of Los Angeles, with the Huskies teeing off at 9:40, 9:50 and 10:00 a.m.
| 3 | Washington | 370 | 370 |
| T5 | Cory McElyea (3) | 72 | 72 |
| T13 | Charlie Hughes (2) | 74 | 74 |
| T13 | Trevor Simsby (4) | 74 | 74 |
| T13 | Kevin Spooner (5) | 74 | 74 |
| T33 | Chris Williams (1) | 76 | 76 |
| T70 | Ty Chambers (6) | 81 | 81 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Players Mentioned
