Texas Tech University Athletics
Furious Red Raider Rally Falls Short In Albuquerque
May 18, 2016 | Men's Golf
Ivan Ramirez eagled the 18th hole on his way to shooting a 73 on Wednesday at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional.
May 18, 2016
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- After being as many as 12 strokes out of an NCAA qualifying position, Texas Tech men's golf nearly pulled off an incredible comeback, but fell just short at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, on Wednesday.The Red Raiders went just 3-over on the final nine holes at the UNM Championship Course to finish with a three day total of 907 (+43), and it was nearly enough to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Tech stumbled out of the gates on holes 10-18, going 12-over on the first four holes. At that point, the Red Raiders were 12 shots out of the final NCAA qualifying spot. However, Tech was able to steady itself on the backstretch of the back nine when Hurly Long birdied 17 and Ivan Ramirez eagled 18 before Hannes Ronneblad birdied 18.
From there, the Red Raiders were within nine shots of the cutline, and made their move.
One by one, Ramirez, Long, Federico Zucchetti and Wes Artac birdied the par-5 first hole before Ronneblad came through with a massive eagle-3 to drop Tech to +36 for the tournament and within four shots of fifth-place Texas A&M.
While the Aggies struggled with the back nine, the Red Raiders managed to go 4-over on holes 2-5 to keep close. When Zucchetti buried his birdie putt on 6, Tech (+38 at the time) leaped in front of from A&M and was two shots clear of the cutline.
BIG. FED. A birdie on 6 pushes Tech into the top 5, two shots clear of the cutline! #WreckEm
-- Texas Tech Mens Golf (@TTUMensGolf) May 18, 2016
However, holes 7-9, which had haunted the Red Raiders all week, proved to be the difference. Tech went 5-over on the final three holes of the day, allowing A&M and San Diego State to squeak past at the very end.
"We didn't have the start we were looking for, but I could not be more proud of the fight the guys showed," Texas Tech head coach Greg Sands said. "With such a young team, they could have easily folded when it wasn't going their way but they came roaring back and gave themselves a chance. They grew up this week, which makes me extremely excited for next season."
Individually, Ronneblad led the way for Tech, tying for 11th overall (+8). Joining him in the top 30 were Long and Ramirez (+13), who tied for 29th they both shot 73 on Wednesday. Zucchetti (+16) tied for 40th and Artac (+17) tied for 43rd.
The Red Raiders finish the 2015-16 campaign with six top-five finishes, the 17th team tournament win under Sands and their 15th-straight NCAA Regional appearance.
For more information on Texas Tech men's golf, fans can follow the program on its social media outlets on Facebook and Twitter.
