Men's Golf (And Williams) End Up Sixth At Pac-10 Championship

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Men's Golf (And Williams) End Up Sixth At Pac-10 Championship

May 01, 2011 | Men's Golf

By: Washington Athletics

May 1, 2011

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STANFORD, Calif. -- The Husky men's golf team's two-year reign as Pac-10 Champions came to an end on Sunday at Stanford Golf Course. After first-place finishes at the Seattle Golf Club in 2009 and Tempe's Karsten Golf Course in 2010, UW will have to settle for sixth in 2011.

There were some small team victories for the Huskies despite the disappointment of not completing the conference championship three-peat. Washington was the seventh highest ranked team at No. 31 (Golfstat) in the tournament and were able to outlast No. 23 Arizona State and overtake No. 46 Oregon State in the fourth round.

Washington ended up at +49 (1449) overall after a combined 10-over 360 on Sunday. They beat Arizona by one stroke and Oregon State by four shots.

"It was not the best tournament and not the best day, but the guys competed hard," said UW's 10-year coach Matt Thurmond. "At the end, it was actually pretty close between finishing sixth and 10th, and we made a few shots down the stretch and really hung in there, when all we were playing for was pride at that point.

"I was actually proud of the guys today," Thurmond continued. "They gut it out and ended up finishing sixth, which is something we are not proud of, but it is a lot better than seventh, eighth, ninth or 10th."

Playoffs decided both the team and individual titles. USC defeated Oregon on the first playoff hole to claim the team championship, while USC's Matt Trainer defeated Alex Moore of Oregon State on the seventh playoff hole to win the individual title.

The top Husky finisher was Chris Williams, who finished two spots better than 2010 with a sixth-place result. He was one of three UW golfers to notch top-25 finishes.

Williams had to scratch and claw all day to shoot a 1-under 69 on Sunday. He and his Husky teammates teed off from the 10th tee box and Williams made the turn even with a 35.

He would birdie No. 1 and 2 to get to two-under, but gave those strokes right back with bogeys on 4 and 5. Williams shot par golf until a birdie on No. 7 got him one under again with two holes left to play.

The sophomore would give the stroke right back on No. 8 with a bogey, but he rebounded to finish strong with a birdie on his final hole.

Williams ended up tying 2010 Pac-10 Champion Eric Mina of California at +1 (281) overall.

Charlie Hughes had the UW's next best finish, taking home a 22nd-place result. He shot a 3-over 73 at the par-70 golf course and ended up at +7 (287) overall.

Senior Tze Huang Choo was just one-shot back of Hughes at +8 and ended up tying for 25th overall. He copied Hughes with a 73 on Sunday.

Kevin Spooner fired a 2-over 72, his best 18 of the tournament to end up tied for 39th at +14 overall.

Cory McElyea equaled his best round of the tourney with a 73 and Trevor Simsby shot his best 18 so far with a 74. McElyea ended up tied for 48th, while Simsby was 59th.

Washington and the rest of the country will wait to hear their NCAA Championship fate on May 9.

6	Washington	368	356	365	360	1449
T6	Chris Williams (1)	71	70	71	69	281
T22	Charlie Hughes (2)	69	72	73	73	287
T25	Tze Huang Choo (3)	76	68	71	73	288
T39	Kevin Spooner (5)	76	73	73	72	294
T48	Cory McElyea (6)	76	73	77	73	299
59	Trevor Simsby (4)	78	78	78	74	308