Seemingly all eyes in the golf world were fixated on Augusta National Golf Club this weekend for the 2017 edition of the Masters Tournament. They were treated with an instant classic as Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose traded blows down the stretch — eventually giving way to Garcia’s first major victory.
But on the other side of the country, a different golf tournament was played. The stakes were just a bit lower. The Western Intercollegiate — hosted at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California — welcomed some of the best collegiate squads in the United States.
No. 16 Texas men’s golf finished the tournament in eighth place. The Longhorns were a distant 35 strokes behind No. 1 Southern California, who shot even par as a team during the 54-hole event.
Texas shot a three-day total of 35-over par — its worst score of the season in relation to par. However, the Western Intercollegiate is unique as each team sends six golfers, and the best five scores are counted during each round. Most traditional tournaments only take four of the best five scores when computing the team total.
Senior Gavin Hall led the way for the Longhorns as he turned in a total of 3-over for the tournament. He tied for 11th place as an individual as he carded rounds of 72, 72 and 69.
Junior Doug Ghim turned in another solid performance, finishing at 6-over par. Ghim was on the individual leaderboard early in the event after posting a 2-under, 68 in round one. But he stumbled coming down the stretch and shot 72 and 76 to finish in a tie for 24th place.
Scottie Scheffler, the junior from Dallas, continued his hot-and-cold season as he finished a tie for 30th at 7-over par. Scheffler specifically had difficulty on the front nine of his final round as he had a triple bogey on the first hole and a double bogey on the ninth.
Steven Chervony and Spencer Soosman both turned in mediocre performances once again this weekend. The underclassmen haven’t had the strongest seasons thus far — both failing to post a finish in the top 10. Chervony finished in a tie for 39th place at 9-over par and Soosman finished tied for 60th place at 14-over par.
The sixth member of the team this weekend was junior Taylor Funk. Funk has struggled all season to find consistency on the course after a strong sophomore campaign. His inconsistencies continued in California as he turned in rounds of 77, 75 and 73 to finish in a tie for 65th place.
This concludes the regular season for the Longhorns. They will next be in action April 24-26 at Prairie Dunes Golf Club for the Big 12 Championships.
