The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Osborn Climbs To Third In Individual Rankings
10/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 17, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Garrett Osborn's performance in last week's Jerry Pate National Collegiate helped the UAB junior men's golfer leap to a No. 3 ranking in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin men's golf ratings. The weekly computer rating was published overnight on Golfweek's website at www.golfweek.com. Osborn jumped 11 spots from No. 14 a week ago.
Osborn, a Mountain Brook High School product, focused the attention of the college golf world on both him and UAB last week when he ran away with a nine-shot victory in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, one of the most competitive and prestigious in-season men's golf tournaments. His rounds of 62-66-69 gave him a 54-hole total of 197, which tied UAB's school record set by Graeme McDowell.
Osborn is ranked behind top-rated Pablo Martin of Oklahoma State (65.84 rating) and South Carolina's Florian Fritsch (66.94). Both golfers, however, have only registered one tournament on the year. Osborn's two official tournaments have produced a 67.21 rating.
UAB's team rating, meanwhile, jumped from 82nd to 54th after the Blazers finished third behind No. 6 Georgia Tech and No. 1 Georgia in the tournament. In the last two tournaments Alan Kaufman's club has played, it has upset 10 top-25 foes. The Blazers notched a 54-hole score of 842 in the Pate to beat the UAB record by five strokes. All three rounds (279-282-281) rank in the top 15 team rounds in school history.
The rating for Osborn is the highest rating of any kind for a UAB golfer since McDowell finished as the top golfer in the nation, winning the Fred Haskins Award in 2002. Osborn was named last week's Conference USA Men's Golfer of the Week for the second straight week. His opening round 62 set a UAB record and tied both the Pate and Old Overton course records.
UAB next travels to Tunica, Miss., for the Tunica National Collegiate hosted by Ole Miss Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
