Air Force Golfers Prepare for Barona Collegiate Cup
3/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 24, 2010
The Air Force golf team returns to action, March 25-26, at the Barona Collegiate Cup, hosted by San Diego State. The 54-hole tournament is being played at the par-72, 7,300-yard Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif. The first two 18-hole rounds will take place on Thursday, with the final round played on Friday. Each day will begin with a 7:30 a.m. (PT) shotgun start. Live stats will be available at golfstat.com.
Last Time Out...
Senior Tom Whitney picked up his first individual victory of the season to lead the Falcons to a fifth-place finish at the Triumph at Pauma Valley, hosted by San Francisco, March 15-16. As a team, Air Force posted a score of 917 for the tournament.
Whitney, the only golfer in the field to shoot under par in the final round, fired a three-round score of 211 (-2), finishing four strokes ahead of the runner-up.
The Field...
The field for this week's tournament features 16 teams, including Oregon, which is ranked seventh in the latest Golf World/NIKE Golf Coaches Poll. The complete field, with Golfweek/Sagarin rankings in parentheses, follows: Air Force (158), Colorado (91), Hawaii (179), Loyola Marymount (162), Nevada (72), New Mexico State (111), Northwestern (54), Oregon (9), San Diego State (37), UAB (116), UC Davis (76), UC Irvine (60), UC Santa Barbara (137), Utah (155), UTEP (181) and Wyoming (122).
In the Rankings...
According to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin ratings (updated March 22), senior Tom Whitney is ranked among the top 100 collegiate golfers, coming in at No. 65. Meanwhile, his season stroke average of 71.30 is the second-best in the Mountain West Conference.
Earning the Win...
At the Triumph at Pauma Valley on March 15-16, senior Tom Whitney recorded a commanding victory, winning medalist honors for the first time this season. Firing a 68 on the final day of action, Whitney was the only golfer in the field of 70 players to shoot below par in the final round. He ended the tournament at 211 (-2), finishing four strokes ahead of the runner-up.
While the win was the first of the season for Whitney, it was the fourth of his career. His four career victories are second-most in school history, trailing only 2002 graduate Ben Leestma, who won seven tournament titles in his career.
Another Top-Three Showing...
With five top-three finishes this season, including his win at the Triumph at Pauma Valley, senior Tom Whitney has now posted a top-three finish 10 times in his career, setting the Academy record for most individual tournament finishes in the top three. Ben Leestma, a 2002 graduate, held the previous record with nine top-three finishes in his career.
Up Next...
The Falcons are back in action April 4-5 at the annual Cowboy Classic, hosted by MWC rival Wyoming in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Players Mentioned
