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Maybe it was the weather.
Experiencing yet another day of difficult conditions in Salt Lake City, the Huskies posted their worst day of the tournament at 13-over, but still gained ground on the field to finish fourth in the PAC 12 championships yesterday.
#4 ranked Stanford claimed its third straight PAC 12 championship followed by Cal and Arizona State. By finishing fourth, the Huskies finished a bit ahead of the curve in a conference that actually has five other teams ranked in the national rankings ahead of UW.
Jon Rahm of ASU, a contender for his second straight Ben Hogan Award finished as the top overall finisher for the tournament. Corey Pereira was the top finisher for UW at #9.
In other golf news, UW senior Jonathan Sanders won the PAC Student-Athlete award for 2016 as announced by the conference yesterday. Sanders will conclude his UW career with three career wins. Just as impressively, Sanders is on track to finish his UW academic career with a degree in Political Science and a GPA in the 3.5 range.
The season is not yet over for UW. The Huskies are certain to be selected into the NCAA Regionals and will find out their destiny on Thursday. This year's NCAA Championships will be held in Eugene.
Below is the full press release from UW's Ricky Brackett.
Dawgs Finish Fourth At Pac-12 Championships
SALT LAKE CITY - On a difficult day at The Country Club in Salt Lake City, Washington battled the conditions to finish fourth at the Pac-12 Championships. The Dawgs finished with a round of 13-over 368, their worst of the tournament, but actually gained ground on the field while other teams struggled with the blustery weather in Salt Lake City.
"We competed really well this week," said head coach Matt Thurmond. "On all the things we can control, specifically how we prepare, compete and the emotion and energy we bring to the tournament, we did awesome. These guys care so much and play so hard."
For the week, the Huskies finished at 23-over to take fourth against the always difficult Pac-12, which currently has six teams ranked in the top-25.
"We still haven't had our day this year, but this group has a lot of character and our day will come," said Thurmond. "Fourth is a solid finish in this conference."
No. 4 Stanford won their third-straight conference title, finishing at 18-under, followed by No. 13 California who shot 28-over for the day to fall all the way to 11-over after contending coming into the final round. No. 10 Arizona State placed third at 19-over, four shots better than the 24th-ranked Dawgs. Washington passed No. 2 USC during the final round as the Trojans also struggled on Sunday.
The Huskies got solid play across the board, not having to keep a score worse than 75, a good number considering the conditions. Corey Pereira was the Huskies' top finisher, placing tied for ninth for the tournament at 1-under. Carl Yuan had the top score on Sunday, shooting even-par 71, a score topped by only five players.
Pereira finished with a round of 2-over 73 to earn the top-10 finish, his fifth of the season. It was also Pereira's second top-10 at the Pac-12 Championships, having finished eighth as a freshman in 2014. The junior made three birdies and four bogeys for his final round to finish as one of just 10 players under par for the championship.
Jon Rahn of Arizona State took the individual Pac-12 title, firing round of 3-under 68 to climb to the lead and win by four at 12-under. Jordan Gumberg of Arizona also shot 68, tying Rahm for the best of the day to finish second at 8-under. David Boote of Stanford and K.K. Limbhasut tied for third at 7-under. Limbhasut entered the day with a five-shot lead, but sputtered to an 8-over 79 on Sunday.
Yuan finished a strong first Pac-12 Championships in 14th place after his even-par round. He made three birdies and three bogeys on the day, including a back nine of 2-under with no bogeys.
Frank Garber had the next best score for the Huskies, shooting 3-over 74 for his final round. Garber finished in a tie for 38th at 12-over for the week.
Jonathan Sanders and Chris Babcock were the other scores kept with rounds of 4-over 75. Sanders finished at 8-over for the week and tied for 28th, while Babcock was 9-over and tied for 32nd.
Rounding out the squad for the Huskies was Jordan Lu who finished with a round of 7-over 78 and 22-over for the week, tied for 62nd.
The Dawgs will now await their fate for NCAA Regionals, which will be announced Thursday, May 5, at 6:30 a.m. live on the Golf Channel. A total of 81 teams and 45 individuals will be selected to Regionals, which will be played May 16-18 at six different regional locations. The Huskies are a shoe-in to be selected, but will find out the location of their regional Thursday. From Regionals, 30 teams and six individuals will advance to the NCAA Finals, being played at Eugene Country Club in Oregon this year.
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