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Men's golf falls just short in comeback bid

Wildcats finish 2 shots behind ASU in tune-up for Pac-10 tournament

The final day of play at the Thunderbird/Savane Invitational in Tempe proved to be interesting, to say the least, for the Arizona men's golf team.

In fourth place and trailing front-running Arizona State by three strokes, the Wildcats mounted an impressive comeback at the Karsten Golf Course but fell short in their upset bid on the final hole of the 54-hole tournament.

Twelfth-ranked Arizona had a shot to beat - or tie - ASU, but Sun Devil Paul Casey birdied the final hole to clinch the two-stroke victory.

Had Casey bogeyed the hole, the instate rivals would have tied. Arizona finished at 16-under-par, while ASU carded a 18-under-par 846 to win the team title.

"We can take our hats off to them, they played pretty good," senior Scott Moore said.

As a team, the Wildcats shot 10-under-par yesterday to elevate them from fourth to second place. Although they didn't finish as tournament champions, senior All-American Derek Gillespie was pleased with the team's performance.

"We played pretty good as a team, but we could have hit a few shots better," Gillespie said. "It came down to the last hole where they birdied."

Individually for Arizona, Gillespie finished second after carding a three-day 8-under-par 208. Casey was one shot better at 9-under-par.

Although Gillespie played a competitive tournament, he missed a few putts at critical times that cost him a chance at the top individual honor.

"I missed a couple of two-footers, but other than that, I played well," he said.

Freshman Ricky Barnes finished third at 6-under-par, while sophomore Scott Moore tied for eighth at 4-under-par.

After the two Arizona schools, Fresno State and New Mexico finished third and fourth, respectively.

Arizona will have its chance at revenge next week on the same course at the Pacific 10 Conference Championships.

"We know we can keep up with ASU on their home track," Gillespie said. "I feel it will be a two team race between us and ASU, and hopefully, we can beat them on their home turf."

Moore's impressive showing could be what the Wildcats need before next week's Pac-10 Championships at the same course.

"It can be the breakthrough tournament for him, and we need him to play well," Gillespie said.

Moore agreed.

"I was pleased with my performance, considering I was struggling in the last two tournaments," he said.

Gillespie added that he expects all six UA golfers to play well, and he was pleased with their performance this weekend.

"We need all six guys to play well, and pretty much everyone played well, and we were pleased with that," he said.