The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
NCAA Bremerton Regional
UAB Men's Golf Wins Bremerton Regional, Advances To Nationals
5/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Final Results
BREMERTON, Wash. -- Junior Martin Rohwer shot a Gold Mountain Golf Club course record 64 (-8) in the final round to lead the UAB men's golf to team its first regional title at the 2015 NCAA Bremerton Regional. The Blazers finished 21-under for the three-rounds to advance to the 2015 NCAA National Championship.
"We are delighted to get the win," head coach Alan Murray said. "I am proud of the boys, they gave a great effort this week and played really well. After the practice round they probably weren't expecting scores like that this week. It was a really strong field. Regionals are always tough so to come out on top and shoot 21-under par as a team is pretty phenomenal."
With a battle for the win at stake, UAB had to play strong on the back nine to stay in front of surging South Carolina. The Blazers recorded 17 birdies on the second half of the course and finished 12-under through the final nine holes to close out the round.
UAB fired a 10-under 278 in the third round to top the 14-team field by two-strokes with a three-day total of 843. Never falling below second, the Blazers opened with an 8-under 280 to lead the field after the first 18 holes on Thursday, then a 285 (-3) in the second round left the team one shot behind heading into Saturday's finale.
The Blazers held off No. 6 South Carolina, who finished second at 19-under, to take the title. No. 17 Southern California (-17), TCU (-10) and No. 12 Washington (10) were the other four teams to advance from the Bremerton Regional.
Rohwer had a career-day in the final round despite starting with a bogey on the first hole. The Natal, South Africa native quickly went back to even with a birdie on the second hole. Rohwer then recorded birdies on holes four, six and nine to sit at 3-under on the front nine.
He added five more birdies on the back nine and four pars to close out the record-setting round. Rohwer finished tied for second at 9-under (68-75-64 = 207), four shots behind individual medalist Cheng-Tsung Pan (-13).
"This week everyone contributed," Murray remarked. "They really have all season. Martin (Rohwer)'s round today, a course record 64, was absolutely phenomenal. The team in the first three holes had three bogeys and two double bogeys and we were able to get through that. The guys just seemed to play better and better as the round went on."
Senior Paul Dunne capped off a solid tournament with an even-par 72 to finish tied for seventh at 6-under (67-71-72 = 210). After a slow start on the front nine, Dunne bounced back to record four-straight birdies on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th holes but a couple of bogeys in the final three holes left him even for the day.
Picking up a top-20 finish was freshman Lee Hodges. Hodges had a tough start in the final round going 3-over through the front nine, but picked up several strokes with birdies on 13 and 14. He finished the round with a 74 (+2) to total a 214 (-2) for the tournament and tie for 20th.
Junior Will Cannon was steady throughout the three days and closed with an even-par 72 for his best round of the tournament. Cannon recorded three birdies, including two on the back nine on Saturday. He finished tied for 37th with a 220 (+4).
Freshman Taylor Eyster continued to improve throughout the three rounds as he posted his best score with a 2-under 70 in the final round. After a quick birdie, Eyster had a double bogey on three and was 1-over heading into the back nine. He settled in and was back to even with a birdie on 13, then picked up two more on the 16th and 17th holes to go 3-under on the back nine. He finished tied for 46th with a 222 (+6).
"The goal for every program in the country is to get to regionals, then when you get to regionals you want to play well and secure a spot at nationals," Murray stated. "When we go to nationals everyone starts in the same position. We have to prepare well and try to get it done down in Florida."
This will be the second consecutive appearance for UAB in the NCAA National Championship, marking the first time in school history the Blazers have made back-to-back trips. UAB will have a week off to prepare for the 2015 NCAA Men's Golf Championship that runs Friday, May 29 through Wednesday, June 3 in Bradenton, Fla. at The Concession Golf Club.
The tournament format will have three rounds of stroke play before the field is cut to 15 teams. Those teams will compete in one more round of stroke play, with the top eight teams advancing to match play to decide the 2015 National Champion. The Golf Channel will have live coverage beginning with the final round of stroke play and all three match play rounds.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account:@UABathletics. For men's golf news, follow @UAB_MensGolf.
