University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Golf Finishes Eighth At Rutherford Intercollegiate
04/23/2006 | Men's Golf
April 23, 2006
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Sophomore Jordan Utley notched his third-straight top-five finish to lead the Richmond men's golf team to eighth place out of 15 teams at the Rutherford Intercollegiate played Saturday and Sunday at Penn State's Blue Course.
The Spiders finished at 51-over-par 915 after playing half of the 54-hole tournament under a driving rain on Saturday on the par-72, 6,859-yard Blue Course. The second round was delayed due to the rain and then suspended on Saturday night because of darkness, forcing the round to be concluded Sunday morning.
Richmond shot a 305 in the second round and sat in 11th place, but used a 7-over 295 in the third and final round to move up to eighth.
"We're disappointed with our finish, but Jordan Utley played a very good tournament," Richmond head coach Adam Decker said. "We had hoped to improve in the second round, but were unable to take advantage of the improved weather. We did play better in the third round."
Eastern Michigan won the tournament at 892, while George Washington finished second at 901 and Virginia Commonwealth took third at 902. Penn State and Miami (OH) tied for fourth 903, while James Madison took sixth (907) and Akron finished seventh (909).
Utley tied for fourth place with a 5-over-par 221 after carding a 1-under 71 in the third round. He shot a 5-over 77 in a driving rain during Saturday's first round, but was at even-par through the final two rounds after piecing together a 1-over 73 in the second round. This was Utley's fifth top-five finish of the 2005-06 season, including his third straight. In the last three tournaments, Utley has shot five of his eight rounds at even-par or below.
Senior Tyler Randol shot an even-par 72 in the third round to finish in a tie for 32nd at 14-over 230. Randol carded a pair of 79s in the opening two rounds. Sophomore Chris Bagley shot a 3-over-par 75 in the final round to finish in a tie for 35th at 15-over 231 (80-76-75).
Freshman Tim Courtney tied for 66th at 238 (79-80-79) and sophomore Billy Hanes tied for 68th at 239, rebounding from a rain-soaked first round of 85 to shoot a pair of 77s in the final two rounds.
The Spiders are fighting for a berth in the NCAA Regionals, needing to finish as one of the top-four teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Richmond was ranked second in Golfweek's Mid-Atlantic poll entering the Rutherford Intercollegiate, but the NCAA Regional field is selected by a committee based on head-to-head results against teams within the same region.
Richmond has wrapped up play against all Mid-Atlantic Region teams with the exception of A-10 rival George Washington. The Colonials finish ahead of Richmond at the Rutherford Intercollegiate looks to move GW ahead of the Spiders in the rankings, but Richmond will have another shot at the Colonials at the Atlantic 10 Championship.
The 2006 Atlantic 10 Championship will be held May 5-7 at Orange County National in Orlando, Fla.
"We don't have much time to prepare for the Atlantic 10 Championship, but we're going to practice hard," Decker said. "We'll be ready to go."
Richmond junior John Pelet competed in the Rutherford Intercollegiate as an individual and tied for 17th at 10-over-par 226. He carded rounds of 77, 76 and 1-over-par 73.
