April 23, 2008
Final Results and Stats
PHOTO GALLERY
BRASELTON, Ga. - Oliver West capped off his KSU career in fine fashion Wednesday, earning All-Tournament honors after leading the Owls to a tie for third at the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship at Chateau Elan's Woodlands Course.
The Owls (296-285-298-879) improved their best finish at the A-Sun Championship by two strokes, besting last year's fifth place finish by two spots.
West (72-68-73-213, E) turned in his third top five finish of the spring after finishing third, just two strokes behind the individual champion Gareth Shaw (69-67-74-210, -3) of East Tennessee State. He and Shaw shared the lead on the 15th hole before Shaw pulled away down the stretch.
West led the field in birdies with 12, and finished third in par four (3.97) and par five scoring (4.67). His five spring top 10's mark the most prolific season for an individual golfer since the Owls made the move to Division I three seasons ago, surpassing Kris Shepherd's four recorded last fall.
Freshman Matthew Nagy (73-72-72-218, +5) also finished inside of the top 10, continuing his solid play with a two-over par 73 to finish in a logjam tie for seventh place. Nagy was third in pars with 38 for the tournament, including 12-straight to finish on Wednesday.
The A-Sun Championship was also Wesley Sheard's (74-70-78-222) last collegiate event. The redshirt senior turned in his best finish of the season after tying for 17th on the strength of a second round 70. He was second in par three scoring at 3.00 after finishing the course's short holes at even par.
J.P. Putnam (77-75-75-222) and Michael Tulacz (79-76-77-232) closed out the scoring for the third-place Owls, finishing 25th and 32nd respectively. Putnam shot a second-straight 75, including a key birdie on the par four 16th, to help the Black and Gold secure a spot in the top three. Tulacz got out to a strong start with a birdie on the first hole, but couldn't find the red numbers again to finish at 77.
North Florida (293-287-286-866, +14) had all five golfers finish in the top 10 to win the event and earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship's East Regional. Day-two leader ETSU (292-287-288-867) came in just a stroke behind at 867 after turning in a closing 288.
The Owls ended the 2007-08 season with six top five finishes, led by a 22-stroke victory at the Inaugural Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational which they hosted. They set a number of school D-I single season records including scoring average and winning percentage.
