Tide Golfer Brovold Finishes One Shot Out of Title
3/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - University of Alabama golfer Lars Brovold, trailing by a shot on the final hole, shot a seven footer that lapped around the hole-but didn't go in, placing him in second place in the final standings among a field where most of the teams likely will be playing together again in the NCAA Championships come May.
Brovold finished second and his Crimson Tide team ninth of 15 teams at the Toyota Men's Collegiate Golf Championship. The three-day, 54 hole tournament was held at Las Vegas's Southern Highlands golf course. Alabama now returns home to host the Conrad Rehling Alabama Spring Invitational this weekend, March 14-16, at the Capstone Club.
Ryan Moore of UNLV, who won the U.S. Amateur Public Links last summer and will play in the Masters in April, won the tournament by shooting 67 in the final round to win the individual championship. Moore shot 71-70-67/208 to finish at eight under par. Brovold shot 70-67-72/209 to finish in second place at seven under par on the par 72 course.
Alabama was playing in a tournament field of 15 that included the nation's top-ranked team, Clemson, and all five of the top five. In fact, all 15 teams competing are ranked in the nation's top 35, including Alabama which ranks 28th.
The Crimson Tide finished ninth, tying with third-ranked TCU. Alabama shot 290-290-292/872, eight over for the tournament. Twelfth ranked Oklahoma State won the tournament at eight under par, shooting 291-284-281/856. No. 5 UNLV placed second (857), followed by Texas and Clemson (858), North Carolina State (861), Arizona State (864), Arizona (868), Georgia (870), Alabama and TCU (872), Georgia Tech (873), Augusta State (877), New Mexico (879), Florida (883) and Minnesota (889).
"I thought we played really well," said Alabama golf coach Jay Seawell. "It's another step for us. We beat some good teams, but, more importantly, it was another step toward building a national team contender. We got to see everything here, and that was import to us in terms of experience and in terms of seeing what we need to do to improve. The national contender will likely be in this field. It was that strong. We played with the top tier of teams twice now this season, here and at the Jerry Pate which we hosted in the fall. We know we need to work harder, and this tournament gave us a good gauge on where we stand.
"I'm so proud of Lars. He played great. He just fell a little short. He got to do something today that you can't practice, and that's play to win. He just fell one shot short. If the last hole was just a quarter of an inch bigger, he'd be the winner."
Four other Tide players competed for Alabama in the tournament. Mobile's Austin Hynson finished tied at 34th at four over. Hynson shot 70-78-72/220.Wesley Pate finished tied at 42nd (75-72-75/222). Daniel Creel finished tied at 57th (75-73-76/224), and Clint Provost finished 72nd , shooting just one over in the final round (78-81-73/232).
