Texas Tech Among Nation's Elite at Golf Championships
May 25, 2009 | Men's Golf
May 25, 2009
TOLEDO, Ohio - For the third time in the last four seasons and the fourth time in head coach Greg Sands' nine-year tenure, Texas Tech will compete in the NCAA Championships. The Red Raiders will join 29 other teams in Toledo, Ohio, at the historic Inverness Club, May 26-30, for the championships.
Texas Tech tees off at 6 a.m. CT Tuesday with Central Florida and Oregon. The Red Raiders enter the event as the No. 17 team in the country, according to the latest Golfweek rankings. Tech is 18 and 19 in the Golfstat and coaches rankings.
Texas Tech earned the NCAA Championships berth after finishing second at the Southwest Regional in Austin, Texas. The Red Raiders claimed their highest-ever NCAA postseason finish at the event.
Following an opening-round and postseason record 282, Tech held a nine-stroke lead over the field, which was enough cushion to maintain a top five standing. Texas overtook the Red Raiders on day two and held the second-round lead, before Florida claimed team honors on the final day, edging out the Red Raiders by two strokes. Florida, Tech, Texas, Stanford and Michigan finished one through five, respectively, and advanced to the NCAA Championships.
Chris Ward and Nils Floren led the Red Raiders in Austin with a pair of top-five finishes, the highest of any player in school history in regional competition. Ward was steady throughout, firing a 2-over 215, including a pair of bookend 71s. Floren carded 73s in the final two rounds to go with an opening-round 70 and finished in a fourth-place tie at 3-over 216. Ward jumped five spots in the final round to third, while Floren climbed a spot. Garrett Merrell grabbed a top-20 finish in an 18th-place tie after shooting 9-over, while Brian Scherer, playing in his third collegiate tournament, carded an 11-over 224. Scherer began the final round in a tie for ninth, but finished tied for 28th. Santiago Rivas tied in 54th place with a 232.
Floren leads the team with a 72.5 stroke average and has paced the Red Raiders with three top five finishes in the spring season. He's also been a steady presence with each of his 23 rounds counting toward the team score. Merrell is second with a 73.2 average, followed by Rivas and Ward with 73.7 stroke averages. Floren, Ward and Merrell each finished among the top 20 at the Big 12 Conference Championships. Scherer is averaging 76.9 strokes, but bettered his average by two strokes in the NCAA regional round.
Texas Tech's appearance this week is the fourth under Sands since his hiring as head coach in 2000, tying the four appearances during the program's previous decades of history. Sands has directed the program to regional showings in each of the last eight seasons and NCAA Championships berths in 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2009.
Players Mentioned
