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Men's golfers finish 3rd at national tournament

Arizona Summer Wildcat

Barnes, Gillespie lead team to best finish since 1992

The UA men's golf team may not have won the NCAA Men's Golf National Championship in Opelika, Ala., last week, but the Wildcats experienced a memorable weekend nonetheless.

After starting the tournament slowly, Arizona rebounded to shoot a school and NCAA record, 19-under-par 269, last Friday en route to a third-place overall finish.

It was UA's best score since 1992, when the Wildcats won the national championship.

"Coach (Rick) LaRose said it was an experience we would remember for the rest of lives," UA assistant coach John Knour said. "It was the best effort ever at U of A. We've won NCAA tournaments before, but what we did over last weekend was unbelievable."

Arizona's accomplishments left Wildcat coaches struggling to keep track of the team, which rose steadily throughout the tournament's final three days.

"When you're coaching, you're always watching the scoreboard and trying to do the math in your head," Knour said. "I was having a hard time counting that high. I'm not sure if any team has ever had all five (players) shoot a 68 or under. It's unprecedented."

Freshman Ricky Barnes, the Wildcats' top individual player, recorded a school-record 13-under-par 275 for the tournament.

For Knour and the Arizona coaching staff, Barnes' success was the result of aggressive recruiting.

"We told everybody last year that we had the best recruiting class in the country," Knour said. "It looks like we picked the right guy."

Barnes, who was named both Pacific 10 Conference Freshman of the Year and NCAA Freshman of the Year, qualified for the U.S. Open last Monday.

"To qualify for the U.S. Open as a freshman in college is unbelievable," Knour said. "It 's the biggest event that our nation has."

Senior Derek Gillespie finished his career on a high note, shooting an 8-under-par 280. On the tournament's final day, the senior shot a hole-in-one on the course's eighth hole, a par 3, 208-yard link.

"I used a four iron and just choked up," Gillespie told the UA sports information department. "I couldn't see it at first and didn't notice any reaction from the crowd until I was able to see that the ball went in. It was my first ever hole-in-one."

Ryan Finley can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.