USC cruises to win

Adam F. Jarrold Arizona Daily Wildcat UA sophomore golfer Andy Barnes putts on the 18th hole at the Raven Golf Club at Sabino Springs during the PING Arizona Intercollegiate tournament. The Arizona men's golf team placed second, 14 shots behind Southern Cal.

The Wildcats finished with a three day total of 17-over par 869, placing them 14 shots behind the first place Trojans of Southern Cal on the par 71, 6,882 yard Raven Golf Club at Sabino Springs.

Freshman Derek Gillespie and sophomore Andy Barnes each shot a final round 1-over par 72, and Junior Rory Sabbatini putted his way to a 3-over par 74 to lead the Wildcats to their narrow second place finish. Following Arizona in the team standings was New Mexico at 19-over par, Virginia-Commonwealth at 20-over par and Arizona State which finished fifth at 27-over par.

Roger Tambellini of USC used eight birdies and nearly flawless short iron play to take the individual title with a final round 5-under par 66. Tambellini finished the two-day, three-round tournament at 8-under par, four strokes ahead of runner up Tim Clar k of North Carolina State. John Rollins of Virginia Commonwealth muscled his way to a third place finish at 3-under par. Tambellini, the No. 43 ranked player in the country, blazed through the front nine, en route to shooting a 5-under par 31, while placi ng nearly all of his approach shots within just a few feet of the cup.

Other scores of note include Arizona Sophomore Todd Rose who finished in 41st place at 14-over par, and senior Gary Matthews at 17-over par in 53rd place.

The Wildcats will now take two weeks off before traveling to Hawaii for the John Burns Intercollegiate on Feb. 18-20.