PULLMAN, Wash. – University of San Francisco men's golfer Tim Widing wrapped up a tremendous regional run finishing tied for third with a 12-under 198 (67-65-66) on Wednesday at the Palouse Ridge Golf Club.  Widing finished one stroke from advancing to the NCAA Championship.
 
"I am just so proud of Tim," exclaimed head coach Jack Kennedy. "He played great all week. It hurts to come up short but sometimes that's life and golf. Words really can't describe the level of golf Tim played this week and I am so grateful to be a part of his golfing career. Next year will be a great one for Tim and our program."
 
Entering the final round, Widing was sitting 8-under par and two back the leaders.  After opening the round with four-straight pars he broke through recording the first of four birdies with a three foot put on the par-5 fifth.  On the front-9 a bogey on six was the lone blemish.  He immediately erased that bogey with a birdie on seven.
 
At 9-under heading into the back-9, Widing once again played tremendous golf and did not let the pressure get to him.  He opened it up going birdie-birdie on 11 and 12 catapulting him into a tie at second.  After pars on 13 and 14 Widing got to the tee box on 15, the hole that had been money to him all tournament.
 
After two-straight eagles on 15 in which he drove the green both the first and second round, Widing made it three in a row.  Driving the green for the third-straight day – this time lipping out from a potential double-eagle. Widing was forced to settle for the tap in eagle bringing him in a tie with the individual leader, UC Santa Barbara's Zach Smith, with three holes to play.
 
Over the final three holes, Widing went par-bogey-par to finish his tournament run. The 198 is believed to be the third best score over a 54-hole tournament at the Par-70 Palouse Ridge Golf Club behind top finishers Rhett Rasmussen (BYU) who finished with a 15-under 195 and Smith who finished with a 13-under 197. The previous record was set by Boise State's Donny Hopoi who finished with a 200 in September 2017. 
 
Widing's third place finish is his best at the NCAA Regionals.  His freshman season he finished in 40^th place at the Washington Regional with an 11-over 224 (74-81-69). Last season, he finished tied for 35^th at the Bryan Regional with a 6-over 222 (75-75-72).
 
The native of Jonkoping, Sweden finishes his junior campaign with an average round score of 71.09 which is the second best of his already stellar career.  He also finished the season with 18 rounds at par or better and carded 127 birdies and four eagles.
 
"Obviously disappointed that I missed an advancement to Nationals by one, but I am very proud of how I have handled myself this week and I am taking a lot of positives from this event going forward," said Widing. "Once again I played incredibly from tee to green and it was very exciting almost making a hole in one on the par-4 15th. I holed a few nice putts out there today, but most of them wouldn't fall and that's just golf, some days they drop and others they don't. Overall a great event and I am happy with my performance. I want to thank everyone for their support, it means everything to me knowing that so many people have reached out and cheered me on. Go Dons!"
 
Widing will be leading an impressive core that is returning for USF for the 2019-20 season.  The Dons return their entire roster from a team that finished second in the WCC Championship this year and narrowly missed out on a bid to the NCAA Regional.