The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Conference USA Championships
Men's Golf Finishes Fourth At C-USA Championship
4/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 26, 2011
TEXARKANA, Ark. - The men's golf team made a late run, but it was not enough as UAB finished tied for fourth at the 2011 Conference USA Men's Golf Championship. The Blazers closed play with a team score of seven-over par 871 (291-294-286), which was their best 54-hole score of the 2010-11 season.
UCF, ranked No. 32 in the nation, won the title for a third-straight season after recording a final round of eight under par 280. The Knights (862) surged up the leaderboard and finished two strokes ahead of second-place Memphis (864). Tulsa (868) finished third, while Houston tied UAB for fourth overall.
"I am extremely proud of the way we scratched and clawed all day," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "I thought we put forth a great effort. At one point, we were in third and only four strokes out of first. But give credit to UCF. They are a strong team and played like champions today and deserved to win.
"We have no seniors on our team and we can learn from this experience," Kaufman said. "I think this can give us a lot of confidence going into next year."
The Blazers were one of four teams to have three players finish among the top 20 in the 55-man field. UCF, Memphis and Tulsa also achieved the feat.
Junior Jason Shufflebotham led the charge on Tuesday, as he recorded four birdies and just two bogeys on his way to a two-under par 70. As a result, he vaulted eight spots and finished tied for 13th-place with a three-day total of one-over par 217 (74-73-70). It was his eighth top-25 finish in 12 tournaments this year.
Freshman Sam Love (71-73-74), who was among the top-10 individual golfers entering Tuesday's final 18 holes, and sophomore Hunter Hawkins (72-75-71) tied for 16th place, as each carded a two-over par 218. Redshirt freshman Thomas Sutton (77-74-71) and junior Tyler Hock (74-74-74) rounded out the team in 30th place with a 222.
In all, three Blazers recorded sub-par rounds during the final day (Shufflebotham, Hawkins and Sutton).
Despite not winning the team title, Memphis had reason to celebrate as the Tigers' Jonathan Fly earned the medalist honor for the championship with a seven-under par 209. He edged UCF's Greg Eason (210) by one stroke. East Carolina's David Watkins finished third with a five-under par 211.
Shufflebotham will have a chance to make the NCAA Regionals as an individual qualifier, which will be announced early next week.
