May 22, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Pepperdine men's golf team's hopes of advancing to the NCAA Championships unraveled during Saturday's third and final round at the South Central Regional, as the Waves fell from fifth to seventh place.
The top five schools in the 14-team field moved on to the NCAA Championships. After shooting 2-under during the first two rounds at the par-72 Traditions Golf Club to get into the fifth and final spot, the Waves were 15-over on Saturday and finished with an 877 (286-288-303). North Florida, Georgia and Baylor passed Pepperdine in the standings. The Bulldogs and Bears finished tied for fifth at 869, with Baylor earning the final berth thanks to a playoff victory.
Texas Tech (851) eked past host Texas A&M (852) for the victory. TCU (858) and North Florida (859) also qualified.
Junior Andrew Putnam (University Place, Wash./Life Christian Academy) and sophomore Josh Anderson (Temecula, Calif./Murrieta Valley HS) led the Waves by tying for 17th place with 1-over 217s. Putnam went 72-69-76 and Anderson shot 71-71-75.
Senior Shane Mason (San Diego, Calif./St. Augustine HS) tied for 41st at 224 (72-76-76), senior Carl Smith (Laguna Beach, Calif./Santa Margarita HS) tied for 43rd at 225 (76-72-77) and junior Andrew Widmar (El Paso, Calif./Cathedral HS) tied for 52nd at 228 (71-81-76).
Pepperdine, which won the 1997 NCAA title, was hoping for its eighth NCAA Championships appearance and first since 2006.
Team Results: 1. Texas Tech 282-284-285=851; 2. Texas A&M 277-288-287=852; 3. TCU 277-291-290=858; 4. North Florida 280-298-859=859; *T5. Baylor 291-289-289=869; T5. Georgia 294-291-284=869; 7. Pepperdine 286-288-303=877; 8. Tulsa 292-288-299=879; T9. Auburn 288-290-302=880; T9. Wichita State 283-290-307=880; 11. Rice 299-284-306=889; 12. North Carolina 301-311-298=910; 13. Georgetown 303-299-313=915; 14. Jackson State 325-348-310=983.
Top Individuals: 1. Russell Henley (Georgia) 71-67-69=207; T2. Kevin Phelan (North Florida) 66-72-70=208; T2. Ignacio Elvira (Texas A&M) 66-70-72=208; 4. Johan de Beer (TCU) 71-67-72=210; T5. five tied at 211.
Pepperdine Scores: T17. Andrew Putnam 72-69-76=217; T17. Josh Anderson 71-71-75=217; T41. Shane Mason 72-76-76=224; T43. Carl Smith 76-72-77=225; T52. Andrew Widmar 71-81-76=228.
* won playoff for fifth place
