Saturday, May 1
Lake Las Vegas Golf Club | Henderson, Nev.
University of San Francisco
vs
Round Three
Photo by: Kyle Terada
MGOLF | Dons Capture Third Thanks to Exciting Finish
5/1/2021 3:43:00 PM | Men's Golf
HENDERSON, Nev. – The 25th ranked University of San Francisco men's golf team fended off a hard-charging Saint Mary's squad with an electric finish by Tim Widing and Soren Lind, to capture third at the West Coast Conference Championships at Reflection Bay Golf Club on Saturday.
"We came into this week really wanting to win a WCC championship," said head coach Jack Kennedy. "Unfortunately, we just didn't have our best all week and we came up short. Tip your cap to Pepperdine who played great."
Pepperdine took home the team championship with a WCC Championship record 49-under 815 (269-272-274). The Waves' Dylan Menante and Clay Feagler were co-champions, shooting 11-under 205.
For the first time in the history of the WCC Tournament, the Dons failed to have a player finish in the top 10. Soren Lind led the Dons, finishing tied for 11th with a 6-under 210 (70-69-71); Tim Widing finished tied for 13th with a 5-under 211 (66-74-71). Toby Briggs moved up 10 spots on the final day to finish tied for 16th with a 3-under 213 (72-72-69), and Matthew Anderson moved up a spot to finish tied for 22nd with a 1-under 215 (73-70-72). Alex Chin finished with a 2-over 218 (70-70-78).
The Dons finished the tournament in third after shooting a 22-under 842 (278-281-283). The 842 is a program best at the WCC Championship for USF, topping the 851 shot in 2019 at the Reserve at Spanos Park. USF finished the third round with a 5-under 283, thanks to the heroics of Widing and Lind on 16-18.
"I was proud of the battle our guys showed today when things weren't going our way," added Kennedy. "To finish the way we did, should build us some momentum going into regionals. We can't wait to find out where we are headed next week."
At the turn, the Dons were in fourth place at 3-under as a team. USF briefly got back into third thanks to a tremendous showing on the par-5 12, where four of the five Dons carded a birdie.
From there things almost unraveled. Widing recorded three-straight bogeys on 13-15. Anderson, Briggs, and Chin struggled on 15, with the trio going bogey, bogey, and double-bogey, respectively. From there the Gaels, who finished the day 10 under, moved into third and led the Dons by two strokes.
Over the final three holes, USF shot three under as a team. However, with Widing's and Lind's scores still to be recorded, the Dons needed three birdies to catch the Gaels. Lind began the stretch run with a birdie on 16 and went par-par to finish 1-under on the day.
Widing began the run with a par on 17, but went birdie-birdie on 17 and 18 to finish the back-9 even part and 1-under for the round.
As a team USF had 63 birdies, which was tied for third-most in the tournament behind Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.
USF will return to action on Monday, May 17, in the first round of the NCAA Regionals. The Dons will await their location on Wednesday, when the NCAA announces the regional participants on the NCAA selection show that will be broadcast at 11:00 a.m. on the Golf Network.
Regional play for the 2021 Division I Men's Golf Championships will be held May 17-19, with play taking place at The Sagamore Club in Noblesville, Ind., Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla., Championship Course at UNM in Albuquerque, N.M., Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs, Tenn., and Tumble Creek Country Club in Cle Elum, Wash.
Three of the six regional sites will have 13 teams and 10 individuals competing, while three will have 14 teams and five individuals. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional site (six individuals total) will advance to the national championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 31-June 2.
"We came into this week really wanting to win a WCC championship," said head coach Jack Kennedy. "Unfortunately, we just didn't have our best all week and we came up short. Tip your cap to Pepperdine who played great."
Pepperdine took home the team championship with a WCC Championship record 49-under 815 (269-272-274). The Waves' Dylan Menante and Clay Feagler were co-champions, shooting 11-under 205.
For the first time in the history of the WCC Tournament, the Dons failed to have a player finish in the top 10. Soren Lind led the Dons, finishing tied for 11th with a 6-under 210 (70-69-71); Tim Widing finished tied for 13th with a 5-under 211 (66-74-71). Toby Briggs moved up 10 spots on the final day to finish tied for 16th with a 3-under 213 (72-72-69), and Matthew Anderson moved up a spot to finish tied for 22nd with a 1-under 215 (73-70-72). Alex Chin finished with a 2-over 218 (70-70-78).
The Dons finished the tournament in third after shooting a 22-under 842 (278-281-283). The 842 is a program best at the WCC Championship for USF, topping the 851 shot in 2019 at the Reserve at Spanos Park. USF finished the third round with a 5-under 283, thanks to the heroics of Widing and Lind on 16-18.
"I was proud of the battle our guys showed today when things weren't going our way," added Kennedy. "To finish the way we did, should build us some momentum going into regionals. We can't wait to find out where we are headed next week."
At the turn, the Dons were in fourth place at 3-under as a team. USF briefly got back into third thanks to a tremendous showing on the par-5 12, where four of the five Dons carded a birdie.
From there things almost unraveled. Widing recorded three-straight bogeys on 13-15. Anderson, Briggs, and Chin struggled on 15, with the trio going bogey, bogey, and double-bogey, respectively. From there the Gaels, who finished the day 10 under, moved into third and led the Dons by two strokes.
Over the final three holes, USF shot three under as a team. However, with Widing's and Lind's scores still to be recorded, the Dons needed three birdies to catch the Gaels. Lind began the stretch run with a birdie on 16 and went par-par to finish 1-under on the day.
Widing began the run with a par on 17, but went birdie-birdie on 17 and 18 to finish the back-9 even part and 1-under for the round.
As a team USF had 63 birdies, which was tied for third-most in the tournament behind Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine.
USF will return to action on Monday, May 17, in the first round of the NCAA Regionals. The Dons will await their location on Wednesday, when the NCAA announces the regional participants on the NCAA selection show that will be broadcast at 11:00 a.m. on the Golf Network.
Regional play for the 2021 Division I Men's Golf Championships will be held May 17-19, with play taking place at The Sagamore Club in Noblesville, Ind., Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla., Championship Course at UNM in Albuquerque, N.M., Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs, Tenn., and Tumble Creek Country Club in Cle Elum, Wash.
Three of the six regional sites will have 13 teams and 10 individuals competing, while three will have 14 teams and five individuals. The top five teams (30 teams total) and the low individual not on an advancing team from each regional site (six individuals total) will advance to the national championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 31-June 2.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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