University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Men Take Fourth at Gridiron Classic
10/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
The University of Minnesota men’s golf team arrived this morning at the University Of Notre Dame’s Warren Golf Course in South Bend, Ind. with a one shot lead and an opportunity to take home a team championship for the first time this season. After nine holes the team title was still in reach but today was not the day for Minnesota, as they finished in fourth place with a combined 54-hole score of 874.
Arkansas posted their best round of the tournament with a 3-over par 283 to take the title by four strokes over UC Davis. The Razorbacks are the third different champion in the tournament's three-year history. Michigan State finished third followed by the Gophers and Lamar University in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Minnesota was led on Tuesday by senior Victor Almstrom with a 1-over par round of 71. He made the turn in the morning at even for the day and shot his way to two under after 12 holes until hitting a rough stretch on holes 14-16. He finished the tournament in a three-way tie for 17th at 10-over par (220). Junior Ben Pisani finished in a tie for 12th place at 8-over par (218), his best 54-hole score of the season, and has now paced the Gophers in two of the squad’s three tournaments this fall.
Seniors Yu Katayama and Andy Paulson finished in a five-way tie for 22nd at 12-over par (222) while freshman Derek Chang concluded his third collegiate tournament in a tie for 29th. Sophomore Cameron White, competing in the tournament as an individual, rebounded with a 75 on Tuesday after shooting an 83 in the afternoon on Monday and finished 23-over par.
Michigan State's Randy Hutchison took home medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 1-under par 210. He defeated Arkansas’ Andrew Landry by one shot and Landry’s teammate Jamie Marshall by two shots. UC Davis’ Brent Booth carded the low round of the tournament on Tuesday with a 6-under par 64 to finish four shots off the pace. His 64 also tied the tournament record and was one shot off of the collegiate course record set in 2005.
The Gophers will be off until Oct. 20 when they will travel to Washington, Maryland to take part in the Georgetown Invitational. The invite will be played at The Members Club at Four Streams, a 7,100 yard, par 72 championship course designed by Nick Price and architect Steve Smyers.
Players Mentioned
