CSU men’s golf finishes fifth at Radrick Farms

When the CSU men’s golf team traveled to the Radrick Farms Golf

Course in Ann Arbor, Mich. Thursday, it was faced with the

challenge and excitement of playing in its first tournament of the

2004-2005 season. For sophomore Derrick Whiting, it would be the

first tournament he played at the Division I level.

Although Whiting said he wasn’t nervous going into the

tournament, he did feel pressure to play well, hoping to have a

strong start to the new season and his Division I college career.

However, by the time the tournament ended on Sunday, all previous

emotions were replaced with disappointment.

According to Whiting, the team’s fifth-place finish was well

short of the team’s goal. Prior to the tournament, Whiting’s

teammate, junior Kevin McAlpine, said he believed the team could

win the tournament.

“Every time I step on the course, I want to win,” Whiting said.

“We didn’t play up to expectations.”

After shooting a team score of 590 and finishing tied for

seventh place during the first two rounds on Saturday, the team

shot a final-round score of 290 on Sunday to move up to fifth

place. The team’s final score was 880, nine strokes out of first

place.

The Rams were led by senior John Hayes, who shot two over par

with a final individual score of 218. Hayes’s score was good enough

for a 13th-place individual finish out of 78 total

participants.

Sophomore Aaron Weston finished 18th overall with a final score

of 219, and McAlpine finished the tournament tied for 29th with a

score of 222.

Whiting and junior Nate Pettitt each shot a three-day total of

227 to tie for 54th place.

Keven Fortin-Simard of the University of Memphis finished first

with a final score of 211.

In the team standings, Memphis, University of Wisconsin and

Purdue University all tied for first place, each shooting a team

score of 871.

Although Whiting was disappointed by the team’s fifth place

finish, he said he was impressed with how the team’s performance

improved throughout the tournament. He said he believes the team

will continue to get better throughout the season.

“We got better as the tournament went on, and we can build on

that,” Whiting said. “We’ll get better as the season goes on.”

The team will have three weeks to prepare for its next

tournament, the Tucker Invitational, which will be Oct. 1 and 2 in

Albuquerque, New Mexico.