Tennessee entered the NCAA golf championship ranked No. 26 by GolfWeek.
The Volunteers finished in a tie for 25th place.
Click here to view a hole by hole guide of The Honors Course
UT shot 7 over par Thursday and 20-over 884 for 54 holes at The Honors Course, which is a layout they figured could help them this week because they’ve played it regularly.
“We didn’t play very well, unfortunately,” Vols coach Jim Kelson said. “I think we needed to probably get a team that is ranked higher than that throughout the year if we are going to expect to finish a lot higher than that at the finals.”
David Holmes concluded his career with a 1-under 215 to lead UT. Garrick Porteous shot 218, Robin Wingardh shot 219, Baylor School graduate Jay Vandeventer shot 232 and Darren Renwick had the drop score each day.
“We kind of got some things going and had some good stuff,” Kelson said. “We had some good runs, but then we gave it all back. It was just too many bogeys and too many bad stretches.”
The Vols began their season with a victory at Carpet Captial Collegiate at The Farm Golf Club at Rocky Face, Ga. They won another tournament in the fall but couldn’t finish better than a tie for fifth during the spring season until they tied for third at the Southwest Regional.
“The win at Carpet Capital, all that did was give us confidence,” Holmes said. “I don’t think it set expectations too high. I don’t think we ever played to our potential.”
CHAMPS DETHRONED
Texas A&M will not have the opportunity to defend its national championship this weekend during the match play portion of the tournament.
The surprising 2009 champions had two sub-par rounds, but the Aggies had a 16-over round Wednesday, resulting in a 7-over 871 finish.
“Two rounds under par on this golf course is fantastic,” coach J.T. Higgins said. “It’s just a shame that yesterday was so bad. Whatever we did went wrong, and we couldn’t get anything our way.”
The Aggies made a run to get in the top eight Thursday by shooting 6 under, including 3-under rounds from Jordan Russell and Ignacio Elvira.
“To come back after a day like that shows what kind of guys they are,” Higgins said. “They are champions through and through.”
But they are 2009 champions, and no team has repeated its crown since the 1985 Houston team.
“We felt like we had a great chance to repeat and the players to do it,” Higgins said. “It’s disappointing.”
GEORGIA SOUTHERN LAST
The Eagles finished dead last out of the 30 teams competing at the NCAA championship with a 41-over total as the lone Southern Conference representative.
Spencer Fulford led GSU at 5-over 221 in the Eagles’ fourth championship appearance in the last 10 years.
“We feel like we belong,” GSU coach Larry Mays said. “We haven’t been as consistent in the last few years as we would like, but we feel like we are moving in that direction.”
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