- photo courtesy Washington/Jamie Hines
The Washington men’s golf team entered the final round of the Pac-10 Championship seven shots back of the lead.
Just seven? C’mon.
At the beginning the month, the Huskies, No. 4 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, entered the final round of the ASU Thunderbird Classic 16 strokes off the lead and in seventh place before rallying for a two-shot victory.
So as for Washington’s comeback victory Wednesday at Arizona State’s Karsten Golf Course to claim back-to-back Pac-10 titles for the first time in school history?
What else is new?
“I’m just so happy for these guys,” said Thurmond, whose team closed with a 2-under 353 for a 37-under 1,383 total, three shots better than Stanford (363--1,386).
“What an amazing memory they will have for the rest of their lives,” Thurmond said. “It may never happen again that we win two back-to-back. So, it was a special week for us and a special historic moment. They will forever be enshrined in Husky golf history.”
The week ended in style, too, with Huskies senior Richard Lee draining a par-saving 40-footer from the collar on the 18th hole.
“We knew we would be OK if he made five,” said Thurmond. “He could have easily three-putted from there and gave Stanford a chance, but to see that putt go in – it was awesome.”
Lee led Washington’s attack with a final-round 68 for a 14-under 270 total, two shots behind individual champion Eric Mina of Cal. Arizona State’s Jesper Kennegard shot 73 and finished second at 269.
Washington senior Nick Taylor (72--275) and freshman Chris Williams (73--275) tied for eighth.
The best round of the day belonged to Huskies freshman Charlie Hughes, who played the back nine in 4 under to shoot 67 and tie for 16th.
– Information from the University of Washington was used in this report
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ABOUT THE
Pac-12 Championship
72-hole men's collegiate championship of the
Pac-12 Conference with simultaneous team and
individual competitions. Unlike most college
tournaments, the best five scores of six players
account for the team score each day.
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