The Minnesota men's golf team put together its best round of the weekend, firing a 297, but it wasn't enough to move up in the standings. The Gophers finished the Puerto Rico Classic in 14th place with a +40, 904, seven strokes ahead of 15th place Purdue. The University of Alabama won the team title by carding a -10, 854, three strokes ahead of Oklahoma State.
Gophers' senior Clayton Rask (Ostego, Minn.) started the final round in a tie for fifth place and in good shape to climb the leader board in hopes of challenging for medalist honors. The Rio Grande Country Club fought back, however, as Rask finished with a final round 77 to put him in a tie for 25th place along with teammate Victor Almstrom (Vallingby, Sweden). Junior Yu Katayma (Tokyo, Japan), playing as an individual, finished in a tie for 55th place followed by Ben Pisani (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) in a tie for 64th place, Andrew Paulson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) in a tie for 74th place and Mikael Salminen (Espoo, Finland), playing in his first collegiate tournament, in 76th place.
Alabama's Matthew Swan carded rounds of 66, 71 and a final round -5, 67 en route to the individual title. Swan's closest competition was by Oklahoma State's Rickie Fowler, who finished in second place with a -7, 209.
The Gophers will next take to the links on March 7-9 as they travel to Las Vegas to take part in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championships, put on by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The tournament field includes Air Force, Arizona, Arizona State, Charlotte, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, UNLV and USC.
Men's College Golf
Puerto Rico Classic
Rio Grande, P.R.
Rio Grande Country Club
Par 72; 6,902 Yards
Team Results Final Round
1. Alabama, -10, 854; 2. Oklahoma State -7, 857; 3. Georgia, -3, 861; 4. Duke, -1, 863; 5. East Tennessee State, +3, 867; 6. Michigan, +6, 870; 7. GeorgiaTech, +7, 871; 8. Clemson, +11, 875; 9. North Carolina State, +12, 876; 10. Virginia Tech, +14, 878; 11. Texas, +17, 881; 12. Northwestern, +20, 884; 13. Kent State, +22, 886; 14. Minnesota, +40, 904; 15. Purdue, +47, 911.
Top 10 Individuals
1. Matthew Swan (Ala.) -12, 204; 2. Rickie Fowler (Okla. St.) -7, 209; 3. Charlie Holland (Texas) -6, 210; T4. Gareth Shaw (ETSU) -5, 211; T4. Darren Blair (NC State) -5, 211; T6. Chesson Hadley (Ga. Tech) -4, 212; T6. Hudson Swafford (Geo.) -4, 212; T6. David Markle (Kent St.) -4, 212; T6. Russell Henley (Geo.) -4, 212; T10. Michael Thompson (Ala.) -3, 213; T10. Matt Hill (NC State) -3, 213; T10. Lion Kim (Mich.) -3, 213.
Minnesota Individuals
T25. Clayton Rask +3, 219; T25. Victor Almstrom +3, 219; T55. Yu Katayma +10, 226*; T64. Ben Pisani +14, 230; T74. Andrew Paulson +21, 237; 76. Mikael Salminen +23, 239.
*Playing as an Individual
