Final NCAA Championships Individual Results
SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. –
Jeff Evanier scattered three birdies on his final nine holes and put the finishing touches on his storybook sophomore season by firing a 2-under par 70 in the third and final round of the NCAA Men's Golf Championships on Thursday.
Evanier continued his gradual rise up the leaderboard and finished at even-par 216 (75-71-70) at the Cardinal Club Golf Course. He tied for 19th in the field of 108 individuals.
Evanier's play during the week more than validated his selection following a standout NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional performance. He is the only golfer in school history to qualify for nationals.
“I'm very pleased that he played well all week,” EC Head Coach
Bill Buttner said. “It was just a matter of letting things happen and hopefully we can use this as a stepping stone to do great things next year. He'll come back and get even better.”
Evanier opened the afternoon with eight consecutive pars after teeing off on No. 10. He three-putted the 18th to make the turn at +1, but bounced back in a big way.
“He saved some pars and missed some opportunities on his first nine holes,” Buttner said. “It very easily could have been a 1-under score, but 1-over wasn't bad.”
Evanier took advantage of his distance off the tee to place the ball 50 yards in front of the green on the par-4 second hole. He sank his first birdie putt of the day by canning a four-footer and moved to even par on his round.
Evanier then saved par on No. 3 (his 12th hole) before breaking into the red numbers with a birdie on the 316-yard par-4 sixth hole. He drove the length of the fairway and chipped down to a two-foot setup to go to 1-under.
He then retired into the clubhouse with another birdie on a challenging par-5, 530-yard layout on No. 9.
“The good news is that golf is a traveling game and there's no home course,” Buttner summed up. “You never play the same golf course each week. It's exciting that he can play on all these layouts, whether it's on bent or Bermuda; it's a different type of game, but he's very talented enough to do both.”
