#10 Washington Claims the Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay

The #10 Huskies had a new leader emerge in their big win in the Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay.  Freshman Frank Garber staked out his first career win as UW crushed the rest of field to take home the tournament title.

UW led from beginning to end and had four of players finish on top of the leaderboard.  Garber finished first, Corey Pereira finished second, Jonathan Sanders finished fourth and senior leader CT Pan finished fifth overall.  It was UW's second win this year.

You can find the full scoring report right here.

Thanks to UW Assistant Director of Communications Ricky Brackett for the fine details on his press releases.   The full text of his latest is below.

Dawgs Win Redhawk Invitational At Chambers Bay

Release: 04/07/2015

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – No. 10 Washington earned it second victory of the season, dominating the Redhawk Invitational, played at Chambers Bay, site of the 2015 U.S. Open. The Dawgs finished the week at 14-over 854 to beat second-place Seattle U. by 24 strokes.

The Huskies had four players in the top-five, led by freshman Frank Garber who picked up his first collegiate win, draining a 15-foot par putt on the final hole to win by one over teammate Corey Pereira. Garber, who shot 66 in the second round, shot a 6-over 76 on Tuesday, but it was enough for the individual title.

“It’s tough for anyone to sit on a four-shot lead,” said head coach Matt Thurmond. “You have a couple of your own teammates coming after you. He plays with them every day so he knows how good they are.”

Garber was steady early on, but fell out of the lead after a triple-bogey on the 11^th hole. He came right back to birdie 12 and made another birdie on 16 to give himself an opportunity at the win. He entered the final hole tied with Charlie Kern of William and Mary, but Kern, who was playing 11 as his final hole, doubled bogeyed and that coupled with Garber’s par gave the Husky freshman the win.

“It turned out to be the best-case scenario,” said Thurmond. “He wins and he has a great learning experience as far as even when you feel all is lost, you have to find a way to emotionally stomach it and make a couple pars and maybe a birdie. Everyone has to have that lesson, so to learn it and to win is pretty cool.”

Garber’s 76 was one of four scores kept by the Dawgs who maintained their 24-stroke lead to easily win, despite finishing the day at 15-over 295. The host Redhawks were second, while No. 30 TCU finished in third at 43-over.

Conditions at Chambers Bay were a little soggy with enough wind to play a factor. Scores were higher than Monday’s opening two rounds when the weather was close to perfect. The course is in fantastic condition and played fair, just difficult.

“The course was just amazing – it blew me away,” said Thurmond. “It is a great golf course. There is nothing you can complain about as far as the conditions right now. It’s flawless.”

Pereira finished as the runner-up, firing the best final round for the Huskies at even-par 70. He finished at 3-over 213, nearly tracking down his teammate with five birdies and five bogeys on the day.

Jonathan Sanders finished tied for third at 4-over, finishing with a round of 4-over 74. The Husky junior also had a chance at the win, but double-bogeyed the 18^th hole after birdying the 15^th to get in contention.

Cheng-Tsung Pan rounded out the Washington finishers, placing tied for fifth at 5-over 215. The top-ranked collegiate player got off to a slow start, but got back into contention after holing a chip shot on the 11^th for a birdie and making it two in a row on the 12^th. He finished by bogeying three of the final six holes to fall to three shots out of the lead. The fifth-ranked amateur in the world hopes to play competitively at Chambers Bay again this summer as he will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open next month.

Jordan Lu rounded out the Husky team in a tie for 24^th after shooting 10-over 80 on Tuesday.

Playing as an individual, Chris Babcock placed 38^th after a final round of 6-over 76.

The Dawgs will now close the regular season this weekend by traveling to Santa Cruz, Calif. to compete in the Western Intercollegiate. The oldest collegiate tournament in the country begins Saturday, April 11 with 36 holes and continues Sunday, April 12 with an 18-hole final round.