Strong Finish Propels Huskies To Third In San Diego
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Washington men's golf team equaled the low team score of the tournament with a final round 5-under 287 to finish third out of 20 teams competing in the the three-day Lampkin Grips SD Classic.
Wednesday's final round continued a week of steady improvement and a climb up the leaderboard for the Huskies at the 7,033-yard, par-72 San Diego Country Club. Washington sat in 13th after day one and moved up to eighth after two rounds before finishing third with a three-round total of 11-over 875.
"I am really proud of and pleased for the guys," Husky Coach Alan Murray said after his team recorded its best finish in four competitions this season. "We have had some tough tournaments early this spring, but the guys kept fighting and battling.
"This week we got off to a slow start and were 13th after round one, but they dug deep, kept battling, played some great golf and kept bouncing back when we had some sticky moments. They really showed a lot of toughness and grit."
UCLA took home the team crown, firing a 4-over 868. Nevada had to scratch-and-claw to stave off the Huskies and ultimately finished second at 10-over 874.
UCLA's Devon Bling was the individual champion, winning by one shot at 4-under 212.
Individually, Jan Schneider was the Huskies' top finisher, tying for third with two other competitors at 2-under 214. It was the third top-10 finish of Schneider's career and his second-best individual result, only behind his win in September of 2019 at the Husky Invitational.
"Jan played great this week and showed what he is capable of," Murray said. "He finished in third place and took a real step forward. I hope that he draws great belief and confidence from that.
"I am proud of how he played and carried himself this week."
The biggest mover and shaker on Wednesday for the Huskies was Teddy Lin. The freshman was one of two golfers to shoot the low number for the day, a 4-under 68. He entered the final round tied for 63rd, but was able to move all the way up into a tie for 23rd at 5-over 221.
He started his round with three birdies over the first seven holes, bogeyed No. 8 and doubled No. 10 before finishing with a flurry of birdies. He birdied No. 12, 14 and 15, before finishing with a birdie on No. 18.
"Teddy's 68 was so good today, with a really strong back nine," Murray said. "I am really proud of him. He will take great confidence from that finish."
Noah Woolsey finished the tournament with his best round, firing a 1-under 71. Like his teammate Lee, he shot 1-under on the back nine and tied for 33rd at 6-over 222.
"Noah showed his class with a 1-under par round, despite making two bogeys on par fives. He is so dogged and grinds till the end and that was a big round for us," Murray said.
Henry Lee equaled Lin with a 23rd-place finish. He battled hard on the back nine to shoot 1-under and finished 1-over 73 for the day.
Petr Hruby shot 77 on Wednesday and finished tied for 62nd with a three-day total of 227 (+11).
"Henry played some great stuff and battled hard today. His round was important and counted for us. Petr contributed also," Murray said.
"It was a total team effort this week, which was really encouraging."
The Huskies return to action March 22-23 in the two-day Duck Invitational.