Texas Tech Athletics
Big 12 Conference Championships
Trio of Red Raiders Among Top 20
April 29, 2009 | Men's Golf
April 29, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas - Nils Floren finished where he started off, in the lead for the Red Raiders at the Big 12 Men's Golf Championships at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. The Texas Tech sophomore opened tournament play with a strong second-place showing after round one, but struggled with a 79 in the second and 75 in the third, before rebounding with a 71 Wednesday for a 12th-place tie.
The Red Raiders (1188) moved up a spot in the final round to finish in sixth place, 14 strokes behind fifth-place Baylor (1174) and three strokes ahead of seventh-place Kansas (1191). Oklahoma State (1149) won the event by 14 strokes over second-place Colorado (1163), while Texas A&M (1167) and Kansas State (1170) were third and fourth, respectively. Texas (1194) finished eighth followed by Missouri (1204), Oklahoma (1205), Nebraska (1206) and Iowa State (1210).
Chris Ward and Garrett Merrell tied in 17th place, each making different moves on the ladder. Ward entered the final round in a 10th-place tie, but carded a 77 in the final round, while Merrell shot a 71 to move up three spots. Santiago Rivas fired a final-round 72 to finish in a 34th-place tie and Will Griffin finished 59th with a 75 in the final round.
The No. 15 Red Raiders will compete next in an NCAA regional if selected during Sunday's announcement at 4 p.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
