University of Minnesota Athletics
Chang Captures Southeastern Amateur
6/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
University of Minnesota sophomore to be Derek Chang shot a second-consecutive 3-under par 68 on June 21 to win the 80th Southeastern Amateur by seven strokes with a 72-hole score of 268. Chang tied for second in last year’s tournament, which is played at the Country Club of Columbus in Columbus, Ga.
A native of Alpharetta, Ga., Chang went in to Sunday’s final 18 holes with a four-shot lead but it was his round on Friday’s second round that was impressive. He played the front nine at 5-under and the back nine at 3-under to tie the course record with an 8-under par 63.
Chang played in 10 of the team’s 11 events during his freshman campaign and finished with a stroke average of 74.22, the third lowest on the team. He collected three top-10 finishes on the season, including a tie for third place finish at the 2009 Big Ten Championships. The Gophers counted his scores in 27 of the 31 rounds he played.
Minnesota finished runner-up at the 2009 Big Ten Championships and was awarded a spot in the NCAA Northeast Regional. In eight seasons under the guidance of Director of Golf Brad James and Associate Head Coach Andrew Tank, Minnesota has finished first or second at the Big Ten Championships five times, including three titles (2002, 2003, 2007) and finished no worse than fourth.
Also, the Gophers have advanced to regional play in all but one season under Director of Golf Brad James, winning the 1999 Central Region with a score of 865. Minnesota has advanced through the regional into the NCAA Championships nine times since 1993 and captured the 2002 NCAA title in Columbus, Ohio with a score of 1134.
