GREENSBORO, N.C. – Lamar freshman Oliver Bekker, playing in just his third collegiate tournament, closed out his first college championship with a 69 on Tuesday to win the 2006 Bridgestone Golf Intercollegiate men’s golf tournament at Forest Oaks CC.
Bekker, a native of Stellenbosch, South Africa, shot a 66 in Monday’s first round. The second round was later wiped out when players were unable to finish because of rain last night. But Bekker staying hot, shooting three-under on Tuesday to win the tournament by three shots over Xavier’s Andy Pope, who made a late run but couldn’t quite catch Bekker.
Lamar also won the team title by a commanding 14 shots over Xavier. The Cardinals, with three golfers in the Top 5, tore up Forest Oaks, a PGA Tournament course, with a team score of 13-under 563. They shot 281 in Monday’s first round and 282 on Tuesday. Wichita Sate was third at 586, followed by Maryland and College of Charleston.
UNC Greensboro finished 10th. Burton Wood was the Spartans’ top finisher, placing in a tie for 27th. Wood began the day tied for fifth after an opening round 70, but shot 81 on Tuesday. J.D. Bass had UNCG’s low round on Tuesday, carding a 73 to pull himself up to 32nd place. Ryan Heisey, playing individually, shot a 74 and was also tied for 32nd.
Monday had been full of complications caused by the weather. The first thunderstorm delay of the day stopped play at 8:28 am after just five groups had left the clubhouse, three of the front nine and two on the back nine. Two hours later when play began again, tournament officials shotgun started the rest of the field in an effort to play the scheduled 36 holes.
However, after playing through remaining morning drizzle and blustery conditions throughout the afternoon, a second line of storms moved into the area just after 5 pm. That line haulted play for the day shortly after 6:30 pm, although players were on the verge of heading back out several times as storms came and went. With some teams only five holes into their second rounds, tournament officials decided to wipe out the second round scores and shorten the event to 36 holes.
Forest Oaks Country Club is home to the PGA Tour’s Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. The Bridgestone Golf Intercollegiate is one of two college tournaments played on courses regularly scheduled by the PGA Tour.
UNCG’s next event is April 16-18 at the Southern Conference Championship in Charleston, SC.
AGATE
TEAM SCORING: Lamar 563, Xavier 577, Wichita State 586, Maryland 590, College of Charleston 597, East Carolina 599, VCU 599, Louisville 603, Furman 606, UNC Greensboro 615, Memphis 618, Boston College 622.
INDIVIDUAL TOP 10: 1. Oliver Bekker (Lamar) 66-69=135; 2. Andy Pope (Xavier) 68-70=138; 3. Dusty Smith (Lamar) 72-68=140; 4. Casey Clendenon (Lamar) 69-72=141; T-5. Cameron Bishop (Wichita State) 73-71=144; T-5. Jason Kokrak (Xavier) 69-75=133; T-5. Tyler Sanders (Wichita State) 70-74=144; T-5. Robin Smith (East Carolina) 73-71=144; 9. Tim Tang (College of Charleston) 70-75=145; T-10. Daryl Chappell (VCU) 73-73-146; T-10. John Eades (Maryland) 72-74=146; T-10. Andrea Perrino (VCU) 73-73=146.
OTHER UNCG GOLFERS: T-27. Burton Wood 70-81=151; T-32. Ryan Heisey (indiv.) 78-74=152; T-32. J.D. Bass 79-73=152; T-39. Nathan Stamey 74-79=153; T-42. Bradley Leeper (indiv.) 76-78=154; T-54. Kyle Stockton (indiv.) 78-80=158; T-56. Jake Lowder 80-80=160; T-56. Kent Copeland 79-81=160; 64. David Heyen (indiv.) 78-89=167.
- UNCG -