In spite of a solid overall performance in this weekend's competition, the University of Texas men's golf team came up short in its reach for back-to-back first-place finishes.
Sophomore Charlie Holland once again lead the Longhorns in this weekend's Big 12 Championship at the par 72, 7,470-yard Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity. Holland, who is the 52nd nationally ranked player according to Golfstat.com, was poised for a medalist finish, sitting in third place overall after the first three rounds. The sophomore, however, shot a 5-over 77 in Sunday's final round to take sixth place overall with a 1-over 289.
Oklahoma State, who is ranked sixth among the national collegiate programs according to Golfstat.com, beat the 'Horns by a dominating 20 strokes to win this year's Big 12 Championship. Cowboys Rickie Fowler and Kevin Tway took first and second place honors.
Junior Lance Lopez tied for seventh place, finishing one stroke behind Holland with a 2-over 290. Redshirt freshman Bobby Hudson, medalist winner at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, continued his strong play, tying for 11th place, shooting a 4-over 292. Jace Moore finished in a tie for 22nd place, shooting 10-over 298, followed by senior Kevin Schultz who tied for 28th place shooting a 12-over 300 in this weekend's competition.
Head coach John Fields expressed satisfaction in his team's recent success and solid play.
"I'm very proud of how our guys played this week," he said. "We've really been playing well, with our second-place showing here and our Morris Williams victory earlier this month. Whispering Pines is a great venue, and our guys played and managed the course really well."
Fields continues to have confidence in his young team as they approach the 2008's post season.
"We have a lot of momentum right now," he said. "We want to finish off this academic year and focus on next month's NCAA Regional Championships. That is definitely what is most important to us as a team right now."
The 'Horns have enjoyed a lot of recent success. In the event prior to this weekend's, the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, Hudson took home his first ever medalist finish, leading the team to a first place victory in its annual home event.
In response to the Texas' recent victory, the Longhorns were honored with Golfweek's national team of the week. Hudson was awarded player of the week honors by Golfweek as well.
In spite of their late success, the 'Horns are going to have to maintain a steady collective mind set if they hope to achieve success in next month's post season, where they will be competing against the nation's top collegiate programs.
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