KEVIN PHELAN JOINT THIRD FINISH IN US COLLEGE EVENT

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Kevin Phelan from Waterford, Ireland, a student at North Florida University, finished a creditable joint third in the Jacksonville University Invitational over three rounds at the Players Stadium Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on Tuesday.
It was the first big event of the second half of the US college season after the mid-winter break.
Phelan, pictured right, a member of the GB and I preliminary squad for September's Walker Cup match at Royal Aberdeen, had rounds of 74, 69 and 71 over a long course, 7,11yd (par 72), for a total of two-under-par 214. He finished three shots behind the winner, Bank Vongvanij (Florida University) who shot 69, 69 and 73 for five-under 211.
Paul O'Kane from Castledawson, Northern Ireland and a student at East Tennessee State, tied for 14th place on 221 with Jacksonville State student Tom Robson from Waterlooville, Hampshire.
O'Kane had rounds of 78, 74 and 69, Robson 72, 76 and 73.
Gavin St John Frost (Jacksonville University) from Berkshire came joint 35th on 229 with scores of 77, 76 and 76.
Patrick Spraggs (East Tennessee State) from Rochford, England, finished joint 57th on 238 with scores of 82, 82 and 74.
For a reason which is not yet apparent and there is no explanation on the Old Domion University website, the Old Dominion students taking part all withdrew before the final round.
They included North Berwick's Neil Henderson who had scored 76 and 77, Tom Wilde from Berkshire (83-72) and Sam Wall from Essex (81-74).
Florida (858) won the team title ahead of North Florida (883) with Jacksonville State and Liberty tieing on 856 for third place in a field of 14 teams. East Tennessee State (910) finished ninth and Jacksonville (933) joint 13th.

LATER NEWS ABOUT WHY THE OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY TEAM WITHDREW:

FROM A CORRESPONDENT:
ODU had to pull out of the thirrd round at Sawgrass as the hotel put out a big group of golfers on the Tuesday morning and put back tee times for the college guys by two hours which stretched to three due to fog and slow play. ODU had booked the last flight back to Norfolk, Virginia at 5pm and would have missed that and had to stay till the following morning.
Because of the cost involved and College classes the following day, they had to pull out. The boys were really disappointed but realised why they had to pull out. Neil Henderson had shot two steady rounds of 76 and 77 and was looking forward to the third round and finishing well. The team was all-British, a Scot, and Irishman and three Englishmen.

SAN DIEGO STATE WIN ARIZONA INTERCOLLEGIATE TITLE

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By Ron Balicki
TUCSON, Arizona - Led by Todd Baek and Johan Carlsson, San Diego State shot a closing-round 5-over 289 and rolled to an eight-shot victory on Tuesday in the Arizona Intercollegiate at Arizona National Golf Club.

The Aztecs, No. 14 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings coming into the spring season, finished at 7-over 859 as they claimed their second title of the season, following a fall campaign during which they had three top-3 finishes, including a win at the Tucker.

Pepperdine, led by individual medalist Andrew Putnam, finished second, closing with a 293 for a 15-over 867 total. Sharing fourth place at 869 were Pacific and host Arizona’s “B” squad, which fired the best final round at 1-under 283.
UNLV, Arizona and New Mexico tied for fifth at 879, with No. 13-ranked California, the 2010 tournament champion, placing eighth at 881 in the 16-team field.
Putnam finished first for the second time this season, closing with a 1-under 70 for a 7-under 206 total, three strokes better than Stefan Cox of Arizona “B,” who shot 68 for a 4-under 209.
Second-round play was stopped on Monday by darkness with teams having between 5-9 holes to play. Then, on Tuesday morning, the resumption of Round 2 was delayed by some 40 minutes by frost.
“Right now I’m pretty exhausted and I know my guys certainly are,” said Ryan Donovan, head coach at San Diego State, which had six holes to play in the second round to start the day. “It felt like we were out there for a week.

“The conditions (rain, cold, wind and even a patch of hail) these last two days made things very challenging. So to come through it all and win the tournament is very gratifying. I’m just so proud of the way the guys hung in there and battled, especially when things weren’t going so well.”

The Aztecs started the final round with a three-shot lead over Pepperdine, but early on the final nine holes saw Pacific move in front by two, playing the first 12 holes in 4 under compared to San Diego State’s 6 over through 10 holes.

Host Arizona’s “A” squad made a charge, climbing from ninth place to start the round, getting it to 6 under on the final 18 holes, and moving within two shots of the lead after 11 holes.

But the Wildcats self-destructed down the stretch. They played holes 12-15 in 11-over par among their counters, including 5 over on the par-4 13th, to tumble into sixth place and nine shots behind San Diego State. And, it certainly didn’t help the cause with they played the final three holes in 7 over.

Baek’s closing 68 led to a tie for third overall at 2-under 211 to lead the Aztec attack. Alex Kang tied for seventh at 216, while J.J. Spaun tied for 14th (218), Colin Featherstone tied for 23rd (221) and Carlsson tied for 38th (225) after very uncharacteristic opening rounds of 77-78.

“We’ve really been focusing this year on team chemistry,” Donovan said. “We really stress self-motivation. We have a small squad, only seven players, but they are really getting into it. They are believing in themselves and just how good they are and still can be.”

Putnam, who last autumn tied for first at the Tucker, was the tournament’s birdie leader with 14 and tops in playing the par-3s at 2 under. His final round consisted of four birdies and three bogeys, but it was his opening, six-birdie, no-bogey 65 that set the stage for the victory.

“With the weather constantly changing and the newness of playing with all the guys on your team, this definitely was one of the more interesting tournaments I’ve played,” Putnam, a senior, said. “Emotionally, it was an up and down roller coaster.

“But I played solid all the way around. I think I only hit it in the desert once. I kept the ball in front of me most of the tournament and that was the key."

“Obviously the best way you can start is with a win, so I think definitely this adds to my confidence. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. I feel when I’m playing well, I can win any tournament.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: We try to highlight the individual performances of all British and Irish students on the US college golf circuits. But some do slip through the net. If you know of any such recent results that have not appeared on http://www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk/, please E-mail the information to Colin@scottishgolfview.com