BREMERTON, Wash. – UNC Greensboro senior Nathan Stamey closed out his collegiate career with an even-par round of 72 in the final round of the NCAA West Regional at Gold Mountain GC on Saturday.
Stamey, a product of Canton, NC, finished at seven-over par for the tournament to place tied for 42nd place among 141 golfers. Slotted fifth in the individual seeding, he finished second among the six individual competitors.
It was the first time that a Spartan has earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament in the Division I era. The last UNCG men’s golfer to earn a spot in the tournament came 21 years ago when Todd Jackson earned a place in the Division III Tournament as an individual. Only one Spartan has ever won a national title – Ryan Fox in 1981.
Starting on the back side of the course that had given him problems in the first two rounds, Stamey hung tough on Saturday. He bogeyed No. 10 to open the day. After a par at No. 11, he bogeyed the 12th. Stamey then had a par on No. 13 before a double-bogey at No. 14. But Stamey battled back with a par at 15 and 17 and birdies at 16 and 18 to finish the back in 38 – his best score for that side all weekend.
Stamey then played the front side in 34 with four birdies – Nos. 2, 4, 6 and 9 – and just two bogeys to complete the round.
Oregon’s Joey Bendetti was the wire-to-wire leader to earn the regional’s individual championship. He shot his third consecutive round of 69 to win by four shots over a trio of golfers.
Southern California won the team honors for the regional, carding a team score of 862. Other teams to advance from the West Regional are Oregon, Clemson, Washington, UCLA, Stanford, Saint Mary and Arizona State. San Diego State, Pepperdine and Texas were slated to begin a three-way playoff for the final two spots starting at 10:30 pm ET.
A total of 30 teams – 10 from each regional – and six individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, May 28-31 at Purdue in West Lafayette, IN. Stamey will not be part of the advancing group, however.
- UNCG -