Final Results as a PDF File

Oct. 1, 2011

TUCSON, Ariz. - Led by Erik Oja, the University of Arizona men's golf team finished in a tie for fourth place Saturday at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M.

Oja, a sophomore from Sandviken, Sweden, carded a one-under 71 Saturday to move into a tie for fifth place individually with a 216 (E) total. It is the best finish of his career and his second career top-10 finish.

He was one of two Wildcats to finish in the top 10, as junior Juan Pablo Hernandez finished in a tie for ninth place with a two-over 218 total. Hernandez posted an even-par 72 to collect the second top-10 finish of his career.

It's the first time that Arizona has had two players finish in the top 10 individually since Feb. 7-8, 2011, as Jonathan Khan and Tarquin MacManus finished fourth and seventh, respectively, as UA won the Anteater Invitational.

As a team, the Wildcats posted a final-round 299 (+11) to finish the 54-hole event in a tie for fourth place with a 885 (+21) tally. It marks Arizona's first top-five team finish in fall competition since 2008.

UNLV topped the 16-team with an 867 (+3) total, four shots ahead of host New Mexico and 16 ahead of San Diego State.

BYU's Zachary Blair claimed individual medalist honors. His final round 70 led to a seven-under 209 total.

UA freshman Tucker Wadkins tied for 31th place at 224 (+8), closing with a 76, while sophomore Chris Capo tied for 60th place at 14-over 230. Freshman Brenden Redfern tied for 62nd place at 15-over 231.

Three other Wildcats participated in the tournament as individuals. Seniors Kenji Hernandaz and Philip Bagdade tied for 39th and 41st places, respectively, at 10-over 226 and 11-over 227. Junior Trent Redfern tied for 55th place at 13-over 229.

The William H. Tucker Intercollegiate was contested at the UNM Championship Course, a par-72, 7,562-yard layout.

Arizona will next be in action Oct. 3-4 at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate in Birmingham, Ala.

Top-Five Teams
1.  UNLV, 292-288-287=867 (+3)
2.  New Mexico, 299-282-290=871 (+7)
3.  San Diego State, 295-292-296=863 (+19)
4.  ARIZONA, 295-291-299=885 (+21)
    North Texas, 296-292-297=885 (+21)
Top-Five Individuals
1.  Zachary Blair, BYU; 69-70-70=209 (-7)
2.  James Erkenbeck, New Mexico; 71-69-73=213 (-3)
3.  Derek Ernst, UNLV; 69-73-73=215 (-1)
    Carlos Ortiz, North Texas; 73-70-72=215 (-1)
5.  Erik Oja, Arizona; 73-72-71=216 (E)
    Kevin Penner, UNLV; 76-73-67=216 (E)
Arizona Finishers
T5.   Erik Oja, 73-72-71=216 (E)
T9.   Juan Pablo Hernandez, 71-75-72=218 (+2)
T31.  Tucker Wadkins, 74-74-76=224 (+8)
T39.  Kenji Hernandez (Ind.), 76-74-76=226 (+10)
T41.  Philip Bagdade (Ind.), 76-73-78=227 (+11)
T55.  Trent Redfern (Ind.), 75-77-77=229 (+13)
T60.  Chris Capo, 78-72-80=230 (+14)
T62.  Brenden Redfern, 77-73-81=231 (+15)