The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Conference USA Tournament
UAB Closes C-USA Championship Tied For Fourth
4/24/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 24, 2012
TEXARKANA, Ark. - The 34th-ranked UAB men's golf team closed play at the 2012 Conference USA Men's Golf Championship tied for fourth overall after carding a team score of nine-over par 873 (292-291-290).
"We had three guys play well, but you need four good scores to have a chance to win," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "Coming into today, we had to shoot a ridiculously low number just to have a shot at winning. I thought the greens were awfully firm and it really gave us problems all week."
Memphis, ranked No. 40 in the nation entering the event, led the tournament from wire-to-wire en route it the program's first-ever league crown. The Tigers, who carded a team score of five-under par 859, staved off a late charge from No. 23 UCF, which finished second overall with a three-under par 861.
East Carolina, ranked No. 33 in the country, placed third with an 869, just four stokes ahead of fourth-place teams No. 42 SMU and UAB.
Three UAB golfers finished tied for 13th overall in the 11-team, 54-hole event. Junior Hunter Hawkins (77-72-70), sophomore Sam Love (74-74-71) and freshman Paul Dunne (75-71-73) each finished with a three-over par 219 on the par 72, 6,935-yard Texarkana Country Club course.
Hawkins and Love were the only two Blazers to finish the day below par. Hawkins carded a two-under par 70 during Tuesday's final round, while Love ended the day at one-under par 71.
Senior Jason Shufflebotham (73-74-76) and sophomore Thomas Sutton (70-76-77) closed the three-day event tied for 27th overall with a seven-over par 223.
UCF's Greg Eason recorded three-straight below par rounds to capture individual medalist honors with a 54-hole total of eight-under par 208.
This year's championship featured six of the 11 teams ranked among the top 50 in the country. Tulsa, the other ranked team in the event at No. 48 in the country, finished in seventh with an 888.
With the title, the Tigers received the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals. The Blazers hope to be selected to one of the six NCAA Regionals, which will be announced on May 7.
According to Kaufman, his team is all but assured a trip to the Regionals for the first time since 2008.
"I think we are in for sure," Kaufman said. "We are hoping to do a better job around the greens and hopefully we will earn a bid to Nationals."
NCAA Regionals will tee off May 19-21. Thirteen teams and ten individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals.
The finals will be conducted May 29-June 3, at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
