March 26, 2002
JUNCTION CITY, Ore. - The 16th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team finished outside the winner's circle for the first time in 2002 as the Aztecs were unable to gain any ground on the field at the Oregon Duck Invitational and finished Tuesday's third and final round right where they started in seventh place.
The Aztecs, who carded their worst round of the 54-hole tournament today, shot a combined 7-over 295 during the final round to finish up at 6-over par 870. Host school Oregon led the event wire-to-wire and captured the team title with a final score of 15-under 849.
"We did not play our best golf today," SDSU head coach Dale Walker said. "We struggled on the greens and putted poorly from the top of the lineup on down. But on the positive side this result allows us to now sit down, quit feeling so good about ourselves, and get back to work. This is a great wake-up call for us as we head into the final two events of the regular season and get focused for the postseason."
Senior Brandon Kearney, who was playing as an individual, fired a final-round 70 to finish up third place with career-low 54-hole score of 6-under 210, just four strokes behind individual medalist Jon Reehoorn of Washington State. Unfortunately for San Diego State, the senior's scores did not count toward the Aztecs' team total.
Junior John Lieber was the only other Aztec to break par Tuesday, carding a third-round 71 to climb from 34th to 23rd with a final score 2-over 218. Senior Scott Henderson also finished in the top 25, shooting 1-over 217 for the tournament.
Juniors Lars Johansson and Chris Galeski closed out play tied for 29th at 4-over 220, while sophomore Mark Warman tied for 47th at 7-over 223 for his first non-top-20 finish of the spring.
The San Diego State men's golf team returns to action April 5-6, when the Aztecs travel to Laredo, Texas for the Texas A&M Border Olympics Invitational.
Men's College Golf
25th Annual Oregon Duck Invitational
Shadow Hills Country Club
Junction City, Ore.
Par: 72, Yardage: 6,750
Final Team Results
1. 849 - Oregon, 2. 850 - Washington State, 3. 854 - UCLA, 4. 861 - Nevada, 5. 863 - Stanford, 6. 865 - UC Davis, 7. 870 - San Diego State, 8. 874 - Arizona, 9. 890 - Wyoming, 10. 893 - Portland State, 11. 894 - Hawaii-Hilo, 12. 896 - UC Santa Barbara, 13. 897 - Hawaii, 14. 904 - Oregon State, 15. 910 - Colorado State. 16. 930 - Portland.
Top-5 Individuals
1. 206 - Jon Reehoorn, WSU, 2. 208 - Scott Gordon, UCD, T3. 210 - Brandon Kearney, SDSU, John Poucher, UCLA, T5. 211 - Chris Nallen, UA, Chris Carnahan, UO.
Other San Diego State Individuals T19. 217 - Scott Henderson, T23. 218 - John Lieber, T29. 220 - Lars Johansson, Chris Galeski, T47. 223 - Mark Warman.