TCU shot even par Sunday during the final round of play to run away with top team honors at the Navy Spring Invitational at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course.
The victory marked the first this season for the Horned Frogs and the first since the squad took home the 2010 National Invitational Tournament championship.
The win improves TCU’s stock to earn a possible at-large bid to next month’s NCAA Regionals, however the squad can still earn an automatic berth by winning the Mountain West Conference championship in two weeks in Tucson, Ariz.
Unlike Saturday’s wet and windy conditions, Sunday’s final round featured temperatures in the mid- to high-60’s and sunny skies. TCU took advantage by posting a score of 284 while finishing the tournament +18 overall, 11 shots ahead of runner-up Columbia (+29).
Senior Scott Roudebush, who led the Frogs with a season-low final round of 69, tied for second in the individual standings at +3 for the tournament. Roudebush and Columbia’s Clark Granum finished one shot behind individual champion Ben Hayes, who also fired a 69, which marked the low round of the tournament. Not only was Saturday’s score a season-low for Roudebush, it also tied a career low set during his sophomore season at the Hartford Hawks Invitational.
Roudebush was followed closely in the standings by TCU’s four other individual entries. Senior Tom Hoge and juniors Johan de Beer and Eli Cole each tied for sixth place at +5 to round out the Frog team scoring. De Beer shot par-71 in his final round, while Hoge and Cole both carded 1-over-par scores of 72. Sophomore Daniel Jennevret trailed the TCU trio by three stokes in 15th place after firing a 2-over-par 73 to finish at +8.
The Frogs return to the links May 5-7 at the Mountain West Conference Championships, which will be played at OMNI Tucson National Golf Club.
NAVY SPRING INVITATIONAL
U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course
Annapolis, Md.
April 17, 2011
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (19 teams)
1. TCU – (+18; 302-284-586)
2. Columbia – (+29; 302-295-597)
3. Lafayette College – (+42; 307-303-610)
4. Navy – (+43; 310-301-611)
5. Rhode Island – (+43; 317-294-611)
FINAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (104 competitors)
1. Ben Hayes, Navy – (+2; 75-69-144)
2. Scott Roudebush, TCU – (+3; 76-69-145)
Clark Granum, Columbia – (+3; 73-72-145)
4. Kevin Lewis, St. Bonaventure – (+4; 77-69-146)
Josh Webb, St. Joseph’s (Pa.) – (+4; 75-71-146)
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6. Johan de Beer – (+5; 76-71-147)
Eli Cole, TCU – (+5; 75-72-147)
Tom Hoge, TCU – (+5; 75-72-147)
15. Daniel Jennevret – (+8; 77-73-150)