April 4, 2006

Complete Tournament Results (PDF)

GREENSBORO, NC - East Carolina junior Robin Smith posted a final round one-under par 71 to claim a share of fifth place at the 2006 Bridgestone Golf Intercollegiate men's golf tournament at Forest Oaks CC.

Smith, a native of Grifton, N.C., shot a 73 in Monday's first round. The second round was later wiped out when players were unable to finish because of rain last night.

The Pirates (72-75-4) finished tied for sixth with a 36-hole score of 599 (296-303). Andre Thorsen carded a 149 (74-75) to finish tied for 18, while Philip Reale tied for 27th (74-77=151), Chris Ault was tied for 44th (75-80=155) and Anthony Reale finished tied for 54th (78-80=158).

Lamar freshman Oliver Bekker, playing in just his third collegiate tournament, closed out his first college championship with a 69 on Tuesday to win the individual title. Bekker stayed hot, shooting three-under on Tuesday to win the tournament by three shots over Xavier's Andy Pope, who made a late run but couldn't quite catch Bekker.

Lamar also won the team title by a commanding 14 shots over Xavier. The Cardinals, with three golfers in the Top 5, tore up Forest Oaks, a PGA Tournament course, with a team score of 13-under 563. They shot 281 in Monday's first round and 282 on Tuesday. Wichita Sate was third at 586, followed by Maryland and College of Charleston.

Monday had been full of complications caused by the weather. The first thunderstorm delay of the day stopped play at 8:28 am after just five groups had left the clubhouse, three of the front nine and two on the back nine. Two hours later when play began again, tournament officials shotgun started the rest of the field in an effort to play the scheduled 36 holes.

However, after playing through remaining morning drizzle and blustery conditions throughout the afternoon, a second line of storms moved into the area just after 5 pm. That line haulted play for the day shortly after 6:30 pm, although players were on the verge of heading back out several times as storms came and went. With some teams only five holes into their second rounds, tournament officials decided to wipe out the second round scores and shorten the event to 36 holes.

The Pirates will be idle until April 23 when they head to Gulfport, Miss. for the Conference USA Championships.