May 7, 2008
AUSTIN, Tex. - Kyle Scott (Fr / Edenvale, South Africa) birdied two of the final five holes, which proved to be the winning holes for the Argos to capture the team title and advance to the NCAA Finals. West Florida outscored Nova Southeastern by four strokes to take the team championship. Scott birdied the 18th hole, to win the Individual title by two strokes, with a nine under par 204, to out score Jude Eustaquio of Florida Southern by two strokes. Tobias Rosendahl (Fr / haljarp, Sweden) also had a strong finish, with four birdies on the back nine of the final round, to finish three under par for the tournament.
As the final round wound down, the top ranked Argos were being pushed by the charging Sharks of Nova Southeastern. West Florida began the third round with a six stroke lead over NSU; however, halfway through the final round, the lead was down to three strokes. Then after the leaders completed the 12th hole, the Sharks had tied the Argos for the lead. Both teams would end up with three players finishing in the top 10 individually. West Florida was paced by Kyle Scott and Tobias Rosendahl, who both placed in the top five individually, and their strong scoring in the final holes provided the four stroke team victory.
West Florida was tied with #4 Florida Southern at the end of the first round; however, the Argos out- scored the Mocs by 19 strokes in round two, as Florida Southern fell to fourth place. The Mocs rebounding in round three to capture third place, but the day belonged to the Argos and Sharks, who were the only two teams to finish under par as a team. North Alabama captured fourth place in the South Region, which sent the top four teams to the NCAA Finals, which was more than any other region.
West Florida Seniors Matthew Galloway (Valrico, Fla.) and Federico Damus (Posadas, Argentina) were determined to finalize their senior seasons by advancing to the NCAA Finals. Galloway finished in the top 10 with consistent rounds of 72-70-73 for a total score of 215, which was good enough to tie for 9th place. Damus was just two strokes back with his own consistent scoring of 73-71-73 for a 217, which tied for 15th best. Freshman Otto Bonning (Skanor, Sweden), rounded out the UWF scoring with a 27th best card of 76-68-75 for a 54 hole total of 219.
Galloway joined Scott and Rosendahl in the top 10 individually, while Nova Southeastern also had three players in the top 10, with Constantin Schwierz (3rd), Byron White (5th), and Diego Lobo (7th). Lobo was even par for the tournament, while the top six players were under par, lead by Kyle Scott and Jude Eustaquio of Florida Southern. Eustaquio finished the tournament at seven under par, and was in first place when he turned in his card. He then had to watch as Scott would birdie hole 18 to clinch the outright individual title.
Head Coach Steve Fell discussed the tournament victory. "I am really glad we got through and advanced..it's a tough region, it's such a battle with five teams in the top 10 all playing in our region. You can't afford a bad round with the talent in this region. I am just very happy we got it done..we are capable of great things, and we are excited to play in the nationals." Fell continued, "this is the most tournament wins any team has had, including the national championship team of '01." With the tournament decided in the final holes today, Fell talked about the team and the course, "the back nine today was real close, and it was a great team effort, as everyone contributed. We set mini goals each day of having the low score, and the second day we really pulled through, and had a great effort from Otto (Bonning) for day two. Kyle (Scott), Tobias (Rosendahl), Matthew (Galloway), and Federico (Damus) all played very consistent. That is a great feat considering how windy the course was. Other than the wind, the course was outstanding, maybe the greens were a little slower than we are used to, but we adapted real well with putts."
The 2008 NCAA Division II Men's Golf South Regional was played at the Grey Rock Golf Club in Austin, Texas, with the championship tees providing a 6,805 yard par 71 challenge. The South region and the South Central region competed together in the South/South Central super regional. The top teams from each region (West Florida and St. Edwards) were automatic qualifiers for the national tournament, and an additional three teams from this Super Region were also selected to advance to the National tournament. The three at large teams were all from the South Region, as Nova Southeastern, Florida Southern, and North Alabama also advanced.
The Argos will be traveling to Houston, Texas for the National Tournament, May 14-17, at the Division II Spring National Championships Festival, which will be hosted by Rice University and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority. The #1 ranked Argos will be the pre tournament favorites, and hope to ride the momentum of the clutch performances in the final holes of the NCAA Regional Championship.
