Husky Men's Golf Team Fails to Make Cut at NCAAs
June 1, 2000
Opelika, AL - The Washington men's golf team concluded its season by placing 30th at the 103rd NCAA Championships. The Huskies failed to move out of last place by shooting a second-round score of 312, 24-over par, at the Grand National Lake Course. Combined with its opening round of 301, the Huskies finished with a two-day total of 613. Oklahoma State, which shot a 12-under on the second day, grabbed a one-stroke lead over Texas with a score of 557. The top 15 teams advanced to the final two rounds of play.
For the second day in a row sophomore Gordy Scutt posted Washington's best score. He shot a 75 on the par 72 course to finish with a two-day total of 148. Sophomore Troy Kelly, Washington's stroke average leader entering the event, posted a second-round score of 81 to finish at 156. It was the highest score in his two-year Husky career. Last season Kelly was the NCAA runner-up, finishing with a one-under par score of 287 at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.
"I know these guys are very disappointed in their results here," said Washington coach O.D. Vincent. "We just didn't make any shots. That is really unusual for this team. You hate to play poorly at a level like this, but that is what we did the past two days. Usually we can rebound after a poor start, but that did not happen this time.
"I don't think this is indicative of where we are as a program, "Vincent said. "If you had told me that Troy would shoot an 81 I would not have believed it. He is a much better golfer and competitor than that. I was very proud of the fact we could qualify again out of a very tough regional. I just wish we could have continued that play here."
Washington's other second-round scores included a 76 by senior Scott Kral, an 80 by Derek Berg and an 83 by John Robertson. Two-day scores included a 152 by Kral, 157 by Berg and 162 by Robertson.
The Huskies' appearance at the NCAA Championships marked the third time in four years Washington has qualified for the event. The team also placed 30th in 1997 and was fourth last season.
Washington was not the only Pac-10 team to have a poor showing at the NCAAs. Arizona, in eighth place at one-under par, was the only team among the five Pac-10 representatives to advance to the third round of play. Arizona State, ranked fifth nationally, finished 13-over par to fail to make the cut for the first time. California also failed to make the cut and USC was 29th at 24-over par.
