Mocs, Jaeger Sweep Titles at NCAA Bowling Green Regional
Stephan Jaeger shot a career-best 13-under par total of 203 in winning his school-record fourth medalist honor
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. --- Senior Stephan Jaeger (Munich, Germany) and the Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team swept the individual and team crowns at the NCAA Bowling Green Regional Saturday. It's the first NCAA postseason golf titles in school history.
Jaeger was fantastic from start-to-finish in firing a career-best 203, 13-under par. His first two cards of 70 and 65 were followed by a six-under par 66 today to win by four shots over UCLA's Pedro Figueiredo.
His 66 paced UTC to a four-under 284, the low round of the day. It gave the Mocs a one-shot win over No. 15 Texas A&M and four shots over No. 3 UCLA, the leader the first two days. Virginia Tech (874) and Memphis (876) rounded out the top five which are the schools that advance to the NCAA Championship.
It wasn't easy. The Aggies surged early, while the Bruins roared back in the middle of the round. The three schools were tied at two-under shortly after the teams completed the turn at nine.
As Jaeger went back-to-back with birdies on 11 and 12, Steven Fox (Hendersonville, Tenn.) did the same at 13 and 14. As Fox's birdie dropped on 14, news circulated that Davis Bunn (Knoxville, Tenn.) tallied a hole-in one on the difficult par three 16. He sunk an eight iron from 189 yards out for the epic ace.
Liam Johnston (Dumfries, Scotland) and Chris Robb (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) took over from there. Johnston birdied 17 and ended his day at one-over par 73. Robb birdied three of the last four holes to tie Bunn in the house at 74.
That gave the Mocs a three-shot cushion which was key because the Aggies were not going away. Tyler Dunlap posted birdies on 15 and 16 which coupled with Jaeger's bogey on 16, pulled Texas A&M even with two groups on the course.
Jaeger scored a reversal on the 17th, however. His chip in birdie and Dunlap's bogey Chattanooga back up by two.
Fox's tee shot on 18 went right and his unplayable lie in the high grass added to the suspense. But the junior made bogey to keep the Mocs in front by one. It came down to Jaeger and Dunlap. Jaeger was just off the front of the green in two on the par five, while Dunlap was well to the right in the deep rough.
Dunlap's chip put him business for birdie, while Jaeger chipped up to around six feet from the hole. Dunlap rolled in his nine-footer for his four turning the drama over to Jaeger. He lived up to his status as the top-ranked player in the field nailing the putt for the one-stroke win.
Fox finished tied for third at 211. His course record 64 the previous day still had the assembled throng of locals and school fans buzzing. Robb tied for 26th at 222, while Johnston was two shots back at 224. Bunn ended up with a total of 233.
The Mocs move on to famed Riviera Country Club for the NCAA Championship May 29-June 3. The finals start with 54 holes of stroke play with the top eight teams advancing to match play. Three rounds of match play determine the 2012 NCAA Champion. Live scoring can be accessed on GoMocs.com on the men's golf schedule page.
NCAA Bowling Green Regional
May 17-19, 2012 • Club at Olde Stone • Bowling Green, Ky.
1) Chattanooga 294-281-284 859 (-5)
2) No. 15 Texas A&M 295-278-287 860 (-4)
3) No. 3 UCLA 284-287-292 863 (-1)
4) Virginia Tech 297-286-291 874 (+10)
5) Memphis 295-287-294 876 (+12)
6) No. 11 Arkansas 302-292-285 879 (+15)
7) North Texas 295-299-286 880 (+16)
8) Northwestern 301-286-294 881 (+17)
9) Iowa State 305-288-293 886 (+22)
tie) Colorado State 294-293-299 886 (+22)
11) No. 21 Clemson 295-295-297 887 (+23)
12) Jacksonville State 308-305-296 909 (+45)
13) Penn 313-304-309 926 (+62)
14) Alabama State 319-322-329 970 (+106)
MOCS:
1) Stephan Jaeger 70-67-66 203 (-13)
T3) Steven Fox 76-64-71 211 (-5)
T26) Chris Robb 72-76-74 222 (+6)
T35) Liam Johnston 77-74-73 224 (+8)
T57) Davis Bunn 76-83-74 233 (+17)
SAMFORD MEN'S GOLF: ‘DOGS' O'TOOLE CARDS BEST ROUND ON FINAL DAY OF NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
--- Samford's junior from Oneonta fires a third-round mark of 78 on Saturday ---
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Casey O'Toole's record-setting 2012 season came to an end Saturday as Samford's junior golfer finished as the fifth-place individual at the Greensboro Regional of the NCAA Championship being held at the East Course of the Grandover Resort.
O'Toole turned in his best round of the three-day competition Saturday, a 6-over-par 78, and finished the talent-laden postseason event with a 54-hole tally of 238 (81-79-78). He improved in each round of play and turned in a positive showing as the first Bulldog to qualify for an NCAA Championship as an individual.
Campbell's Vaita Guillaume finished as the first-place individual this week and will move on to the final leg of the NCAA Championship, which will be held at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., May 29-31. Guillaume carded a three-round score of 213 (70-71-72) and finished 12 strokes ahead of second-place individual Sam Ryder (71-78-76) of Stetson.
O'Toole, only a junior at Samford this season, will return for the 2012-13 campaign where the Bulldogs will hope to again make a run for the Southern Conference championship.