TCU Men Within Striking Distance at NCAA Championships
5/31/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 31, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The TCU Horned Frogs remained in contention for a national championship after posting a nine-over par 293 in round three of the 2002 NCAA Men's Golf Championships. The Frogs (859) currently sit in a tie for ninth place, but are just six strokes behind top-ranked and tourney front-runner Georgia Tech (853). TCU's best NCAA finish was fourth in 1980, and the top finish under head coach Bill Montigel was a tie for seventh in 1997.
TCU began Friday morning's round in a tie for fourth place, but struggled in the early going. Blustery conditions made the course more difficult than it played the previous two days. Just one of the 30 teams registered a sub-par round, and Georgia Tech, who entered the day with a total score of -5, left the course at +1. The Frogs netted just 10 birdies on the day, but played well down the stretch, playing even-par golf as a team on the tough finishing stretch from No. 15-18.
Junior Adam Rubinson continued his strong play with a one-over par 72. The junior currently sits in a tie for fourth place individually with a 208 (-5). The best-ever national finish for a Frog individual was a tie for second by J.J. Henry in 1998. Rubinson's best career finish was a second-place showing at The Ridges earlier this year.
"The team played pretty well today," Rubinson said. "We are within six shots of the lead, and I like our chances. I would rather have a team championship, but if I win (the individual title) that would be great. It definitely would be more special if we had a team victory though."
Bret Guetz's consecutive par-or-better streak was snapped at 11 rounds, as he closed the day with a three-over 74. He went without a birdie the entire 18 holes, but managed 15 pars and now resides in a share of 29th place. In a tie for 66th place is TCU senior Andy Doeden, who is five-over (218) through three rounds. Doeden was two-over for the third round, but played the back side at -1 (35).
Freshman J.J. Killeen overcame a slow start to score a three-over 74. He began the day with a double-bogey and bogey, but played even-par golf the rest of the day. Steve Shuert also added a 74 for the Frogs after bogeying the 18th hole. He was looking to match his best round of the tournament.
Despite being in a tie for ninth, Rubinson likes the Frogs' chances to come out of the logjam on Saturday.
"On any given day, any player on our team can shoot really low," Rubinson said. "It's hard to shoot low numbers on this course, so it is going to be a great finish. You have to be smart and make a lot of pars. That is the key this week."
The fourth and final round will be played on Saturday, with TCU scheduled to tee off beginning at either 7:00 a.m. (ET). Each of the tournament's top 15 teams tee off in the morning. Once again, live individual and team scoring of the NCAA Championships is available on www.golfstat.com.
Team Scores (Round 3 of 4):
1. Georgia Tech 277-286-290=853 (+1); 2. Tulsa 281-289-284=854 (+2); 3. Washington 279-291-285=855 (+3); T-4. Minnesota 284-289-283=856 (+4); T-4. Texas 291-275-290=856 (+4); T-6. North Carolina 282-284-292=858 (+6); T-6. Pepperdine 284-288-286=858 (+6); T-6. Toledo 283-281-294=858 (+6); T-9. TCU 283-283-293=859 (+7); T-9. North Carolina State 286-281-292=859 (+7); T-11. Arizona 282-290-288=860 (+8); T-11. Florida 283-286-291=860 (+8); 13. Clemson 286-277-298=861=861 (+9); 14. Augusta State 289-283-290=862 (+10); 15. Purdue 284-287-293=864 (+12); 16. Virginia Tech 291-280-295=866 (+14); T-17. Illinois 277-296-295=868 (+16); T-17. Oklahoma State 289-293-286=868 (+16); 19. Colorado 280-293-296=869 (+17); 20. Pacific 292-292-286=870 (+18); 21. UNLV 292-289-290=871 (+19); T-22. Fresno State 290-28-297=873 (+21); T-22. Georgia 293-289-291=873 (+21); T-22. Texas Tech 288-287-298=873 (+21); T-25. Auburn 288-287-301=876 (+24); T-25. Baylor 292-289-295=876 (+24); T-25. UAB 293-286-297=876 (+24); 28. New Mexico 293-291-293=877 (+25); 29. Georgia Southern 296-291-301=888 (+36); 30. Virginia Commonwealth 295-295-304=894 (+42).
TCU Individual Scores:
T-4. Adam Rubinson 69-67-72=208 (-5); T-29. Bret Guetz 70-70-74=214 (+1); T-66. Andy Doeden 71-74-73=218 (+5); T-88. J.J. Killeen 74-72-74=220 (+7); T-133. Steve Shuert 73-78-74=225 (+12).
