Vandeventer Bright Spot for Vols

Monday, March 12

Georgetown, S.C.

All Day

University of Tennessee

Gen. Hackler Championship

March 12, 2012 | Men's Golf

March 12, 2012

If Jay Vandeventer ever had a better start to a golf round, he can't remember it.

Vandeventer birdied his first four holes Monday and closed the Gen. Hackler Championship with a 2-under-par 70 to put a rough weekend for Tennessee -- and what started as a rough weekend for Vandeventer -- firmly into the rear-view mirror.

The Vols finished 12th out of 15 teams at the two-day tournament in Georgetown, S.C., shooting an 18-over 302 Monday to finish at 924, or 72 strokes over par. North Florida finished at 20-over 872 to outlast East Carolina (874) and Arkansas (878) for team honors, with North Florida's Sean Dale claiming medalist honors at 1-under 212.

In addition to Vandeventer, UT scorers in Monday's final round were Rick Lamb at 76, along with Garrick Porteous and Brandon Rodgers at 78. Danny Keddie shot 87 and Justin Walker, playing as an individual, finished with 81.

`Everything Going My Way'

Vandeventer opened the tournament Sunday with the highest score of his collegiate career: 86. But the junior from Bristol didn't let that derail what has been an excellent start to the spring season.

"As soon as that happened, I just tried to coach myself through it and put that one behind me," Vandeventer said. "I had no choice but to play well, so I had to stand up and be positive. These last two rounds felt a lot more like where my game has been; especially today."

Vandeventer shot 71 in Sunday's second round, and then began play Monday on the 10th hole by birdieing four straight.

"I hadn't hit that No. 10 fairway the first two rounds and I just really focused on getting off to a good start," he said. "I stuck it, and from there everything was going my way. It was a good way to start."

Vandeventer was coasting along at 4 under par before running into trouble in the middle of his second nine. He bogeyed the par-4 third and par-5 sixth holes, then doubled the par-4 sixth to fall back to even.

"It was hard to protect that 4 under right away," he said. "Once you make four, it's good; but you've really got to put that away and forget about it so you aren't trying to protect it or anything like that. I struggled coming in a little bit but kept my head up, and that's really what kept me in the round today.

"I finished with a birdie, so I'm proud of myself for hanging in there."

Vandeventer's birdie on the par-5 ninth hole lifted him to 1-under 70 for the day and 14-over 227 for the tournament. He tied for 40th place.

Late Rallies for Lamb, Rodgers

Lamb owned the team's second-best score (76) of the final round after rallying from a tough opening nine. A triple-bogey followed two holes later by consecutive doubles put the junior at 7 over par through nine. He was still plus-7 through 12 when he put together three birdies down the stretch against just one bogey to finish in a tie for 60th place at 22-over 235.

Rodgers also rallied to post three birdies over his last five holes, shooting 78. The Farragut sophomore was 10 over par through 13 before his comeback pushed his tournament total to 23-over 236 and a tie for 63rd.

Porteous finally succumbed to the rash of high-number holes Monday when he needed nine strokes at the par-5 18th, his ninth hole for the day. It was the senior's first and only score of higher than bogey in the tournament's 54 holes.

Porteous finished with two birdies and five bogeys to settle at 78 for the day and 17-over 230 for the tournament, tying for 49th place.

Keddie managed two birdies but had six holes of double bogey or higher en route to his 87. The sophomore finished in 82nd place at 41-over 254.

Walker tied for 72nd place in his season debut, shooting 81 Monday as an individual to finish at 26-over 239.

Match Play Championship

Next for the Vols is the 2012 Callaway Collegiate Match Play Championship, beginning Sunday at The Concession Golf Club in Sarasota, Fla.

Vandeventer thinks the quick turnaround, match-play format and 16-team bracket may be just the ticket for turning around the Vols' fortunes after a tough weekend in Carolina.

"It's hard to take this kind of tournament," he said of the Gen. Hackler event. "We didn't play the way we wanted to, and we've just got to put it behind us and work on the things we did wrong. Hopefully, we can get ready here in a week to go down to Florida and get back on track.

"And we're looking forward to that one, especially the guys from England," he said. "They play a lot of match play, so they are used to it. It should be a good tournament."

TEAM SCORES
1.	North Florida	300-282-290--872 (+20)
2.	East Carolina	292-297-285--874 (+22)
3.	Arkansas	297-287-294--878 (+26)
4.	New Mexico	296-291-292--879 (+27)
5.	Virginia	297-293-296--886 (+34)
6.	Augusta State	294-293-302--889 (+37)
7.	Coastal Carolina	304-303-292--899 (+47)
8.	East Tennessee State	309-305-286--900 (+48)
9.	Lamar	311-296-298--905 (+53)
10.	Furman	307-295-304--906 (+54)
11.	Maryland	304-300-303--907 (+55)
12.	TENNESSEE	322-300-302--924 (+72)
13.	Pepperdine	312-299-322--933 (+81)
14.	Navy	318-308-313--939 (+87)
15.	Air Force	317-326-319--962 (+110)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1.	Sean Dale, North Florida	69-70-73--212 (-1)
T-2.	Ryan Eibner, East Carolina	72-73-70--215 (+2)
T-2.	Rhys Enoch, East Tennessee State	76-73-66--215 (+2)
T-2.	Ben Kohles, Virginia	75-70-70--215 (+2)
5.	Victor Perez, New Mexico	72-70-74--216 (+3)
UT SCORES
T-40.	Jay Vandeventer	86-71-70--227 (+14)
T-49.	Garrick Porteous	76-76-78--230 (+17)
T-60.	Rick Lamb	85-74-76--235 (+22)
T-63.	Brandon Rodgers	79-79-78--236 (+23)
T-72.	Justin Walker *	80-78-81--239 (+26)
82.	Danny Keddie	82-85-87--254 (+41)
*Competed as individual.