2008 Woodie Awards
Hole in one!
Men's golf wins SBC title, move to NCAA play
Brooks Kirchheimer
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Sports
The DU men's golf team was finally able to put together a complete and consistent tournament this past week at the Sun Belt Conference championships in Muscle Shoals, Ala. And it just so happens that they were able to put it together at the prefect time.
Not only did the golfers capture the first SBC title in men's golf program history, but they were also able to keep their streak alive of advancing to the NCAA West Regional.
In a couple weeks Denver will advance to its sixth consecutive regional, which the Pioneers probably were not going to qualify for without winning the conference tournament, like I said perfect timing.
Going into the SBC tournament the Pioneers had finished ninth or worse in six of their 11 tournaments on the season and were struggling to put together a team performance. Just over a week before the tournament DU had finished fifth in a very competitive field at the Arizona State Invitational and used that momentum to propel to victory at the SBC tourney.
"Of course it was not a surprise. With the talent we have on our team it was a surprise that we didn't win more. This was just a long time coming," said junior Danny Wax about the tournament win.
Denver shot a 4 under par 284 and was four shots back of leader, Louisiana-Lafayette after the first round. In the second round, the Pioneers came into a zone and shot an 8 under par 280 to take a five-shot lead over Louisiana-Lafayette.
In the final round DU struggled a little and shot a 1 over par 289 to finish with a 54-hole score of 11 under par 853 and held off second place New Orleans by one shot.
The Pioneers were led by Wax who finished alone in second place with a 9 under par 207, his lowest career finish.
Wax fired 12 birdies to go along with just three bogies over 54 holes.
Sophomore Espen Kofstad, fresh off his first-career tournament victory at the ASU Invitational, finished in a tie for fourth place with a 7 under par 209.
Not only did the golfers capture the first SBC title in men's golf program history, but they were also able to keep their streak alive of advancing to the NCAA West Regional.
In a couple weeks Denver will advance to its sixth consecutive regional, which the Pioneers probably were not going to qualify for without winning the conference tournament, like I said perfect timing.
Going into the SBC tournament the Pioneers had finished ninth or worse in six of their 11 tournaments on the season and were struggling to put together a team performance. Just over a week before the tournament DU had finished fifth in a very competitive field at the Arizona State Invitational and used that momentum to propel to victory at the SBC tourney.
"Of course it was not a surprise. With the talent we have on our team it was a surprise that we didn't win more. This was just a long time coming," said junior Danny Wax about the tournament win.
Denver shot a 4 under par 284 and was four shots back of leader, Louisiana-Lafayette after the first round. In the second round, the Pioneers came into a zone and shot an 8 under par 280 to take a five-shot lead over Louisiana-Lafayette.
In the final round DU struggled a little and shot a 1 over par 289 to finish with a 54-hole score of 11 under par 853 and held off second place New Orleans by one shot.
The Pioneers were led by Wax who finished alone in second place with a 9 under par 207, his lowest career finish.
Wax fired 12 birdies to go along with just three bogies over 54 holes.
Sophomore Espen Kofstad, fresh off his first-career tournament victory at the ASU Invitational, finished in a tie for fourth place with a 7 under par 209.
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