The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate
Osborn On Fire At Jerry Pate Intercollegiate
10/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 10, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB junior Garrett Osborn torched Old Overton for a first-round 62, followed that with a 66 in the second round and has a nine-shot lead with a 14-under par score through 36 holes at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. The 62 sets a new tournament and course record and is the lowest round ever fired by a UAB golfer.
"Garrett Osborn is a special golfer," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "We have thought he had the potential to be one of the best we've ever had at UAB. He has certainly begun to play that way. Ironically, he had a wrist injury earlier in the week in practice. I guess that goes to show you that golf is just a funny game. He had a tremendous round and a solid day and has put us in position to fare well in the tournament."
UAB's team score of 561 for 36 holes is tied for second with No. 1 Georgia. The Bulldogs and Blazers are nine strokes behind No. 6 Georgia Tech. The Blazers have a four-shot lead on No. 17 Alabama. Clemson is in fifth in the 12-team field which is playing the par-71, 6,958-yard Old Overton Course.
"This is one of the more difficult fields we will face all year," Kaufman admitted. "There are a lot of ranked teams below us in the standings. Either we're playing above our ability or the poll voters just don't know how good we are. We think it's the later, but we're biased."
UAB not only leads the host Crimson Tide and Clemson, who are tied for 17th in the latest Golf Coaches Association of America poll. The Blazers also lead No. 20 Auburn (6th, 568), No. 7 Brigham Young (7th, 569), No. 15 Augusta State (8th, 570), No. 22 Arizona (10th, 578) and No. 15 TCU (11th, 581). Unranked Tulsa is in ninth (574) while Vanderbilt is in 12th place in the field with a 582.
Osborn's 14-under par score was a big part of UAB's Monday success, but not the only factor in the Blazers' rise. Freshman Zack Sucher fired a two-under 69 in the first round to establish a new UAB career low round. His second round 74 has the Mobile, Ala., product tied for 23rd overall at one-over 143. Senior Clark Brown followed a first round 74 with an even par 71. His 145 is three-over for two rounds and tied for 37th overall. Sophomore Kaylor Timmons recovered from a five-over 76 with a par 71 in round two. Freshman Josh Thompson shot rounds of 74 and 79. UAB's team score of 561 would beat the Blazers' 36-hole record by two strokes.
Augusta State's Stephen Swanepoel shot rounds of 67-70 for a five-under first round result. He stands in second place behind Osborn. Taylor Hall of Georgia Tech and Chris Kirk of Georgia are tied for third with scores of 138.
Osborn's record round was one stroke better than the previous UAB mark of 63 set by current PGA and European PGA Tour professional Graeme McDowell. His round was at the Atlanta Intercollegiate in Stockbridge, Ga., on May 10, 2002. McDowell shot a 64 exactly one year earlier in the same tournament. He holds six of the top 10 low rounds in school history. Osborn's 128 would beat UAB's 36-hole record by four strokes. Chris Devlin notched a 132 at the 1999 Adams Cup of Newport, R.I. McDowell holds the 54-hole record at UAB with a 197 he recorded at the 2002 Atlanta Intercollegiate.
Osborn and the Blazers tee off for the third and final round of the tournament on Tuesday.
Jerry Pate 1-2 Round Results in PDF Format
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