University of Richmond Athletics
Courtney And Utley Finish In Top-10 As Spiders Take Fourth At Cavalier Classic
04/29/2007 | Men's Golf
April 29, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Sophomore Tim Courtney and junior Jordan Utley each posted top-10 finishes as the Richmond men's golf team took fourth at the Andrea Brotto Cavalier Classic played Saturday and Sunday at Birdwood Country Club.
The Spiders shot a 299 as a team Sunday to finish the 10-team tournament at 898, four strokes behind third-place VCU (894) and six strokes behind second-place UNC-Greensboro. Richmond shot a 296 in the first round and a 303 in the second round.
"A fourth place finish was pretty good for us," Richmond head coach Adam Decker said. "We were in the last group going into the last round, so that gave us some good preparation heading into the conference championship next week. This was a tough golf course. It was windy and the conditions were fast, but the guys handled that pretty well."
Courtney tied for seventh, the best finish of his career, with a 6-over-par 222 on the par-72, 6,879-yard course. Courtney shot a 74 in the first round, 73 in the second round and 75 Sunday.
Utley tied for 10th at 224 for his third top10 finish of the year. He shot a 1-under par 71 in the first round, a 78 in the second round and a 75 in the third round.
"I'm proud of the way Tim and Jordan played, finishing in the top 10 in a pretty good field with some ACC schools," Decker said.
Richmond junior Billy Hanes and sophomore Grant Rafield tied for 17th with 227s. Hanes shot a 75 in the first and third rounds and a 77 in the second round. Rafield shot his best round of the tournament, a 2-over 74, on the final day. He carded a 76 and 77 in the first two rounds. Senior John Pelet tied for 30th with a 231 (79-76-76).
Richmond junior Lawrence Lessing played as an individual and tied for 28th. Lessing shot an opening round even-par 72, followed by an 81 and 77 to finish at 230.
Richmond will compete in the 2007 Atlantic 10 Men's Golf Championship next weekend at Orange County National Golf Club in Winter Garden, Fla. The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days, beginning Friday.
"Hopefully we can make some improvements this week and make a run at the conference championship next weekend," Decker said.
