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Ryan Moore’s
list of junior accomplishments runs long. His college resume
is running even longer after winning the NCAA Division I Men’s
Golf Championship Friday. Moore, who was playing as an individual
after his UNLV team failed to reach the NCAA Championships,
proved to be the class of the field.
The difficult
Cascades Golf Course at The Homestead Resort was made even
more dicey in the final round by the cold rain. Only seven
of the 81 competitors played 72 holes under par, making Moore’s
13-under all the more impressive.
Moore
entered the event as the nation’s No. 2 college player
behind fellow AJGA alum Bill Haas of Wake Forest. He entered
the final round with a two-stroke edge over former AJGA player
and current Arizona Wildcat Chris Nallen. Moore carded a 4-under-par
66 in the round to make sure nobody caught him. In the end,
Moore finished six shots ahead of Haas and Nallen, who tied
for second at 7-under-par.
During
his AJGA years, Moore won three AJGA events, including the
2001 Thunderbird International Junior. He was a first-team
Rolex Junior All-American that same year.
Nallen
was first-team Rolex Junior All-American in 2000, but may
be best remembered for going toe-to-toe with Sergio Garcia
at the 1998 Marsh Junior at Apawamis, eventually finishing
runner-up to Garcia. Haas was a two-time honorable mention
Rolex Junior All-American in 1998-99.
AJGA alumni
rounded out the complete top nine, as Michael Putnam (Purdue)
placed fourth, Travis Johnson (UCLA) finished fifth, John
Holmes (Kentucky) and Mark Leon (Penn State) tied for sixth,
and Jason Hartwick (Texas) and Matt Wells (Kentucky) shared
eighth.
In the
team competition, the California Golden Bears, featuring three
AJGA alumni, won the title. Peter Tomasulo, who tied for 10th,
Michael Wilson and Scott Carlyle, helped Cal to a remarkable
1-under-par in the final round to finish six shots ahead of
runner-up UCLA.
The Bruins
put together a starting five of AJGA veterans, including Johnson,
who received the AJGA Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award in 1998.
The other players included Roy Moon, who tied for 10th with
Johnson, as well as John Merrick, Steve Conway, and John Poucher.
Arizona
placed third, on the strength of Nallen and four other AJGA
alumni: Mark Lamb, Henry Liaw, Nick Juszczak and Josh Esler.
Fourth-place
Texas was paced by five AJGA alumni, as well: Hartwick, Matthew
Rosenfeld, Jeff Bell, Farren Keenan and Rusty Kennedy.
Georgia
Tech rounded out the top five with, you guessed it, five AJGA
alumni: Nicholas Thompson, Chan Wongluekiet, Michael Barbosa,
Roberto Castro and Kevin Larsen.
In all,
four of the top-five teams consisted entirely of AJGA alumni.
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