University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate
Vols Claim Tiebreaker to Capture Second Fall Title
October 18, 2009 | Men's Golf
Oct. 18, 2009
JONESBOROUGH - Tennessee rallied from four shots behind on the back nine here Sunday to tie Oregon State for team honors at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate.
Both teams shot 6-over-par 294s on Sunday to finish deadlocked at 861. UT was declared the winner because the Vols' fifth player in final-round scoring, Justin Walker, shot 77 to edge the 78 by Oregon State's fifth player, Mike Barry.
Tennessee already has won twice in three tournaments this fall and the Vols captured the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate for the third time in six years.
"We didn't play our best golf but were able to play pretty solid coming in," head coach Jim Kelson said. "It was great to have it so close there at the end. Oregon State is a very good team and they are going to go a long way this year.
"It's always a thrill to win but it's especially thrilling to win this tournament. It's a great field every year and this time was no exception."
Sophomore Darren Renwick, playing in the next-to-last group, drained nearly a 40-footer for birdie on the 18th green as Oregon State's Barry was bogeying for the second hole in a row.
It was the decisive swing in the match and happened only after Renwick was convinced to play a little more break to his putt by UT assistant coach Casey VanDamme.
"Casey was there when I was lining it up and said it was two inches outside an old ball mark," Renwick said. "I thought it was two inches inside, but I went with Casey and hit a perfect putt. The last third of the putt was really quick down the hill. It looked great the whole way and just fell in the front edge."
Renwick's birdie snapped a personal string of eight-straight pars on the back nine. The Worthing, England, native tied for second place overall at 3-under-par 213 for his second top-five in three starts this season. Renwick won the Carpet Capital Collegiate last month.
Tennessee's comeback began when Robin Wingardh stuck his approach at No. 13 to within five feet and made the birdie putt. The Vols then combined for four birdies at the par-5 14th to help offset the tough 16th and 17th holes -- and set the stage for Renwick's heroics.
David Holmes closed with a crucial par in the final group to maintain Sunday's tie. Holmes started the morning in second place but again ran into trouble at the par-4 ninth. He triple-bogeyed the devilish 474-yarder for the second time in three days and shot 76 to finish tied for 11th at 215.
Wingardh carded his third straight even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 16th. The steady junior began with 12 consecutive pars before those birdies at the 13th and 14th, only to give shots back on 15 and 16. Wingardh leads the team with six rounds of par or better.
Jay Vandeventer helped Tennessee's cause with his closing 74. The freshman scored 37 -- one birdie against two bogeys -- on each side despite conditions that made it tough on everyone.
"It was brutal weather all weekend," said Vandeventer, who had his best collegiate finish (40th) at 6-over 222. "It was all about executing shots. The ground slopes here and you rarely have good level lies, even in the fairway.
"It was a battle, but it makes it a lot more fun coming down the stretch and it being so tight. There are some nerves there but I think we did really well as a team. We hung in there and played together."
Justin Walker's 77 seemed to be insignificant but proved the difference for the tournament hardware. A pair of doubles on the front side led to a 41, but he rallied over the final nine to play even par. Walker's 54-hole score of 222 was a collegiate best and tied him for 40th place.
Garrick Porteous also finished in that group at 222, shooting 76 on Sunday to share low honors among those playing as individuals. The sophomore carded birdies on the fifth and 18th holes.
Oregon State's Diego Velasquez led wire-to-wire, shooting 70 on Sunday to finish seven shots clear of the field at 10-under-par 206.
Virginia, coached by former Vols assistant Bowen Sargent, finished two shots behind UT and Oregon State at 863, followed by Virginia Tech at 866. Duke climbed to fifth at 869 with Sunday's best score, 5 under par, followed by East Tennessee State in sixth at 874. Auburn, the only other SEC team in the field, finished 13th at 888.
Saturday's win by Tennessee also matched the victory in Knoxville by the Tennessee women's team. The last time the Vols and Lady Vols won on the same weekend was in 2006, when both squads captured these very same tournaments.
Tennessee's final fall outing is next weekend, the UNCG Bridgestone Golf Collegiate in Greensboro, N.C.
| TEAM SCORES | ||
| t-1. | TENNESSEE | 287-280-294--861 (-3) |
| t-1. | Oregon State | 286-281-294--861 (-3) |
| 3. | Virginia | 290-282-291--863 (-1) |
| 4. | Virginia Tech | 290-287-289--866 (+2) |
| 5. | Duke | 290-296-283--869 (+5) |
| 6. | East Tennessee State | 294-287-293--874 (+10) |
| 7. | Wake Forest | 290-290-295--875 (+11) |
| 8. | Missouri | 287-289-300--876 (+12) |
| 9. | North Carolina | 299-285-293--877 (+13) |
| 10. | North Carolina State | 297-297-288--882 (+18) |
| 11. | UNC Wilmington | 290-293-302--885 (+21) |
| 12. | Kent State | 297-287-302--886 (+22) |
| 13. | Auburn | 300-291-297--888 (+24) |
| 14. | Coastal Carolina | 295-295-302--892 (+28) |
| 15. | UAB | 306-305-301--912 (+48) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | ||
| 1. | Diego Velasquez, Oregon State | 66-70-70--206 (-10) |
| t-2. | Darren Renwick, TENNESSEE | 74-67-72--213 (-3) |
| t-2. | Garland Green, Virginia Tech | 71-71-71--213 (-3) |
| t-2. | Matt Hill, North Carolina State | 71-71-71--213 (-3) |
| t-5. | Six players tied at | 214 (-2) |
| UT SCORES | ||
| t-2. | Darren Renwick | 74-67-72--213 (-3) |
| t-11. | David Holmes | 71-68-76--215 (-1) |
| t-16. | Robin Wingardh | 72-72-72--216 (E) |
| t-40. | Jay Vandeventer | 75-73-74--222 (+6) |
| t-40. | Justin Walker | 70-75-77--222 (+6) |
| t-40. | Garrick Porteous* | 75-71-76--222 (+6) |
| *Competing as individual. | ||
Players Mentioned
