Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
USF Invitational
Red Raiders Rally on Back Nine for Win
March 08, 2009 | Men's Golf
March 8, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech rallied with nine birdies in the final five holes to force a playoff with Florida Southern College and eventually claim top honors at the Ron Smith/USF Invitational at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club in Dade City, Fla. The win is the second in as many tournaments for the No. 7 Red Raiders as the team won the UTSA Intercollegiate two weeks ago.
Senior Santiago Rivas (Cali, Colombia) fired a 4-under 68 in the final round, including birdies on the final two holes to share medalist honors with Florida Southern's Matt Stauch. Rivas, ranked No. 70 nationally, carded rounds of 69-70-68 for a three-day total of 207.
Freshman Nils Floren (Ljungskile, Sweden) continued the impressive start to his young career, tying in fourth place in his third collegiate event with rounds of 71-70-71 (212). The finish is the second-straight top five showing for Floren, who is the brother of former Red Raider and three-time All-American Oscar Floren.
"I thought overall Santiago (Rivas) played very solid all three rounds," Texas Tech Head Coach Greg Sands said. "It was good to see him get his first collegiate win. He's worked hard all five years he's been here and it's good to see it come together. Nils (Floren) continues to play well and that's a good sign for the future.
"We weren't as sharp as a team this weekend, but we stayed patient and finished strong," Sands added. "Without our No. 1 guy playing well, it was good to still see us go out there and get the win. We still have a lot to work on, though."
Junior Will Griffin (San Antonio, Texas) finished in a 34th-place tie with rounds of 73-74-71 (218) and posted three birdies on the back nine, while UTSA Intercollegiate medalist sophomore Chris Ward (McKinney, Texas) was 5-over with rounds of 72-75-74 (221). Senior Garrett Merrell (Dallas, Texas), the nation's No. 19 golfer, shot rounds of 76-75-76 (227). The finish is the first non-top 10 finish of the spring for Merrell in three events.
Texas Tech defeated Florida Southern, ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division II, by three strokes in the playoff. Middle Tennessee (861), No. 37 Louisville (862) and No. 41 Baylor (863) comprised the top five, respectively. Marquette (864), Troy (866), Eastern Michigan (869), No. 3-DII Columbus State (869), Missouri State (872) and Austin Peay (872) rounded out the top 10.
The rest of the field finished as follows: Jacksonville State (874), Missouri (876), Xavier (881), South Alabama (889), South Florida (891), Arkansas State (892), DePaul (895), Louisiana-Monroe (901), Rhode Island (907), Seton Hall (911), Connecticut (927) and Cincinnati (932).
The Red Raiders will remain on the east coast for a few days as the team heads to Athens, Ga., for a rare dual matchup with No. 1 Georgia on Tuesday. Both teams had an open date on their spring schedules and agreed to meet at Georgia for an extra day of competition. The results won't affect the teams' rankings and live stats will not be available.
