June 3, 2010
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• Final Results 
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Post-Round Interviews: Matt Thurmond | Chris Williams
OOLTEWAH, Tenn. -- The Washington men's golf team once again saved their best effort for the last round and finished fourth in the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Championships on Thursday. The top eight teams advance to match play and Washington will face Oregon -- who finished fifth -- in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. ET (6:00 a.m. PT).
"It's pretty awesome," said a relieved Husky coach Matt Thurmond about advancing. "There was a lot of pressure this week. We came in with a lot of people picking us to win...we came back and made some birdies on the last few holes and ended up finishing fourth, so great job by the guys."
Washington shot a combined 5-under par 283 in the third round at The Honors Course and finished 4-under 860 overall. Oklahoma State was a combined 14-under-par and will be the top seed for match play. Florida State was second, followed by Georgia Tech, Washington, Oregon, Augusta State and Texas Tech.
Arizona State, San Diego and Stanford will battle in a three-way playoff at 8:00 a.m. ET to determine who will earn the final match play spot and right to face Oklahoma State.
Despite Washington's fourth-place finish, for much of the day there were no guarantees they would advance. They started the day tied for seventh and had a rocky start with all five of the Huskies scoring a bogey on the 10th hole -- their opening hole.
The Huskies were able to settle down quickly, as Richard Lee, Darren Wallace and Chris Williams birdied No. 11. Williams and Wallace went on to convert three more birdie opportunities on the front nine, while Ben Hogan Award winner Nick Taylor added his own trifecta of birdies during the same stretch.
From there, it got interesting for the Huskies. During the span of holes No. 1 through No. 7, the Husky fivesome combined for nine bogeys and just three birdies. But again, the battle-tested Huskies were able to compose themselves and birdies by Lee, Taylor and Williams on the 200-yard Par-3 eighth hole allowed Thurmond to breath a little easier.
"When Richard and Nick birdied eight, that was probably the first time I was able to relax," said Thurmond.
Williams, the Pac-10 Co-Freshman of the Year, led the charge for the Dawgs, shooting a 3-under 69 and tying for ninth at 4-under 212 overall. His ninth-place finish equals the sixth-best individual result at the Championship by a Washington golfer.
"Matt [Thurmond] said all I need to do is break 80," joked Williams about being a freshman with so much put on his shoulders. "Having a low third round is kind of my deal. Coach says all the pressure is on the seniors, but I feel just as much as they do."
Taylor and Wallace were next highest in the standings, finishing at +1 overall and tying for 41st. Richard Lee was 51st at +2 and freshman Charlie Hughes was 124th at +12.
Next up for the Dawgs is a battle against their conference rival Oregon Ducks. Oregon entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and Washington knows they have their work cut out for them.
"We've played them a lot so we know what we're up against," said Taylor, who shared Pac-10 Player of the Year honors with Oregon's Eugene Wong. "They're playing really well this year, so it's going to come down to that third match. We're just going to have to play well and grind it out."
| 1 |
|
-14 |
F |
-5 |
283 |
284 |
283 |
850 |
| 2 |
|
-10 |
F |
+4 |
283 |
279 |
292 |
854 |
| 3 |
|
-6 |
F |
-2 |
290 |
282 |
286 |
858 |
| 4 |
|
-4 |
F |
-5 |
289 |
288 |
283 |
860 |
| 5 |
|
-3 |
F |
-5 |
284 |
294 |
283 |
861 |
| 6 |
|
-1 |
F |
E |
287 |
288 |
288 |
863 |
| 7 |
|
+3 |
F |
-8 |
302 |
285 |
280 |
867 |
| T8 |
|
+4 |
F |
E |
292 |
288 |
288 |
868 |
| T8 |
|
+4 |
F |
+2 |
286 |
292 |
290 |
868 |
| T8 |
|
+4 |
F |
+4 |
294 |
282 |
292 |
868 |
The top 8 teams advance to Match Play
(Ties will be resolved.) |
| T11 |
|
+5 |
F |
+5 |
287 |
289 |
293 |
869 |
| T11 |
|
+5 |
F |
+1 |
300 |
280 |
289 |
869 |
| 13 |
|
+7 |
F |
-6 |
285 |
304 |
282 |
871 |
| 14 |
|
+8 |
F |
-1 |
292 |
293 |
287 |
872 |
| T15 |
|
+10 |
F |
+1 |
295 |
290 |
289 |
874 |
| T15 |
|
+10 |
F |
+6 |
294 |
286 |
294 |
874 |
| T17 |
|
+11 |
F |
-1 |
295 |
293 |
287 |
875 |
| T17 |
|
+11 |
F |
+10 |
286 |
291 |
298 |
875 |
| 19 |
|
+12 |
F |
-1 |
304 |
285 |
287 |
876 |
| 20 |
|
+13 |
F |
+4 |
292 |
293 |
292 |
877 |
| T21 |
|
+15 |
F |
+5 |
294 |
292 |
293 |
879 |
| T21 |
|
+15 |
F |
+5 |
290 |
296 |
293 |
879 |
| 23 |
|
+16 |
F |
+5 |
293 |
294 |
293 |
880 |
| 24 |
|
+19 |
F |
+2 |
303 |
290 |
290 |
883 |
| T25 |
|
+20 |
F |
+7 |
294 |
295 |
295 |
884 |
| T25 |
|
+20 |
F |
+7 |
297 |
292 |
295 |
884 |
| T27 |
|
+25 |
F |
+8 |
296 |
297 |
296 |
889 |
| T27 |
|
+25 |
F |
+3 |
302 |
296 |
291 |
889 |
| 29 |
|
+34 |
F |
+11 |
301 |
298 |
299 |
898 |
| 30 |
|
+41 |
F |
+21 |
297 |
299 |
309 |
905 |
