The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Shufflebotham Closes NCAA Regional Play With Best Round
5/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 21, 2011
TUCSON, Ariz. - UAB's Jason Shufflebotham finished play at the 2011 NCAA Men's Golf Regional with his best round of the event. The junior golfer carded a one-under par 70 on Saturday and finished the three-day, 54-hole event with an 11-over par 224 (77-77-70).
Despite a solid effort, Shufflebotham finished the Regional in 66th place and did not qualify for NCAA Nationals, effectively ending his 2010-11 season.
"Jason played a lot better today," UAB head coach Alan Kaufman said. "He hit the ball really well. His short game struggled still and that's usually his strength. But to shoot one-under par on this course is great. It was a lot of fun to watch him today."
Similar to Friday, Shufflebotham began the final round with a birdie on the par 5, 516-yard 10th hole. It marked the third consecutive day he has birdied the hole. After recording bogeys on holes No. 12 and 13, Shufflebotham regained his form to birdie two of the final five holes to result in a one-under par 35 through nine holes.
Shufflebotham played consistent golf on his back nine holes, recording just one bogey and one birdie to finish with an even par 35.
For the round, the Presatyn, Wales native collected four birdies compared to just three birdies over his first two rounds.
"It was great to see some good results, but I still feel I left a lot out there," Shufflebotham said. "I learned a lot about myself this week. I now know what things I need to work on. Having coach (Kaufman) out here with me was a big help. I plan on working hard this summer and getting better so when we are at Regionals as a team next year, I will know what to expect."
"We are not going to waste anytime getting ready for next year," Kaufman said. "We have no seniors on this team. The guys are all going to get out and play in some events this summer and we are going to completely focus on getting back to Regionals in 2012."
