Tucson, Ariz. - The University of Arizona men's golf team concluded play at the Pac-12 Championships on Sunday. The Cats finished the tournament in 10th place with a score of 1,482 (+62).
Sophomore Jordan Gumberg had an extremely strong weekend, finishing the tournament in 2nd place at eight-under par, four strokes behind the champion Jon Rahm of Arizona State.
The sophomore started the day in a tie for sixth place at five-under par. Gumberg, starting his day on the back nine, went one-over on his first nine holes of the day. Once the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native made the turn, he notched a birdie on three and an eagle on four, which put him seven-under going into the final five holes of the tournament.
After picking up a par on five, Gumberg, who began his collegiate career at Tennessee before transferring to Arizona, notched consecutive birdies on six and seven to put him at nine-under with two holes to play. Gumberg closed out his final two holes with a bogey on eight, and par on nine to finish the round with a 68 (-3).
The sophomore closed out the tournament with a score of 276 (-8), and led the field in eagles. Gumberg matches former Wildcat Paul Nolen for the third-lowest 72-hole total score in Arizona history. The only Wildcat to score a lower 72-hole score was Ricky Barnes, who registered a 275 and a 268 during his time at Arizona.
Gumberg's eight-under par total is tied for eighth-best score in school history with current assistant coach Chris Nallen and Derek Gillespie.
“I felt today was going to be special,” said Gumberg. “I played solid on my front nine and just wanted to get under par on the day. Luckily, I made a nice birdie on my 12th hole of the day that got things started. I felt comfortable and relaxed all day and knew that I needed a good round to catch the leaders."
Logging his best collegiate finish was redshirt sophomore Jake Kreuz, who finished in a tie for 15th with a score of 287 (+3). Kreuz was third in the competition in pars made with 51 throughout the three days. The redshirt sophomore notched 10 birdies in the four rounds to help him achieve his score.
“This team really showed heart this week, said head men's golf coach Jim Anderson. “The windy conditions and challenging golf course tested every aspect of our game. Although the finish was not our best, we certainly can use this week to continue finding ways to improve. This group fought all the way and bounced back after mistakes.”
Anderson continued: “We had two great performances with Jordan and Jake. Both of these two played with the best in the country and outperformed most of the field. We will add to our depth and continue finding ways to scratch together competitive rounds. Kolton has been an outstanding leader and I cannot say how impressive he was this year. He will be sorely missed and we know his impact on our program will be felt for a long time.”
Redshirt Freshman Austin Stadeli notched a 79 (+8) in the final round of play to tie him for 64th with a score of 307 (+23). Sophomore Peter Koo finishes in a tie for 68th with a score of 311 (+27). Freshman Martin Larrea closes out the tournament in 71st place with a score of 313 (+29). Senior Kolton Lapa finished in 72nd place with a score of 315 (+31).
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