UCLA takes 2 at ASU Invitational
By Chris Gay| Staff Writer
Monday, April 07, 2008

In the practice rounds, the slender Lucas Lee hit the ball unusually short. His UCLA teammates outdrove him by 30 yards on every hole.

They dogged him out, too, calling him the dreaded "L" word -- LPGA.

There were no snickers, no laughs, though, after what Lee pulled off Sunday afternoon.

The Bruins junior fired a final-round 7-under-par 65 to win the rain-shortened Administaff ASU Invitational by two shots at Champions Retreat Golf Club.

The tournament was shortened from 54 holes to 36 after inclement weather postponed play Saturday. By then, Lee had figured his game out.

"I just kept working on the range and something clicked," he said. "I just hit the ball good and controlled where it was going. I wasn't so much LPGA."

After an opening 69, Lee finished at 10-under-par 134. He had eight birdies and one bogey in the final round.

"I knew there were a lot of birdies out there," said Lee, who won his first event of the season and fifth in his collegiate career. "I just tried to stay patient."

East Tennessee State's Gareth Shaw (67) finished two shots behind Lee. Georgia's Adam Mitchell (68), UCLA's Erik Flores (67) and UCLA's Kevin Chappell (68) tied for third at 138.

Lee helped UCLA, No. 5 in the latest Golfweek rankings, win for the fourth time this season.

The Bruins carded a tournament-record 20-under-par 268 in the second round. UCLA finished with a 24-under-par 552 total.

The Bruins even threw out a 70 in the final round.

"Incredible day," Bruins coach Derek Freeman said. "Any time you can throw out anything under par is incredible. It was nice to have every guy in their rounds the entire time."

Second-ranked Georgia (290-278) placed second at 568, a shot ahead of East Tennessee State (293-276) and five ahead of South Carolina (296-277).

After an opening 299, Augusta State closed with 287 to finish in a tie for 12th place at 586.

"It was definitely nice to play well and shoot under par," Augusta State coach Josh Gregory said. "That's something to build on and give our guys some confidence."

The 11 teams that Augusta State finished behind all are ranked in the nation's top 34. The Jaguars are No. 54.

"My gosh, when you're playing 18 teams in a field that good, if you don't play great you're not going to finish in the top six or seven," Gregory said. "So it's not like we lost to any slouches."

Augusta State freshman Henrik Norlander shot 69 to finish at 143 and tie for 15th place. Norlander birdied five holes, including the closing holes on the Player and Palmer Nines.

Augusta State senior Keith Guest, who opened with 71, bogeyed two of his first four holes before recovering to card 72. He also tied for 15th place.

Other Augusta State scorers included: Carter Newman (73, 150, tie for 64th), Olle Bengtsson (73, 150, T-64) and Mitch Krywulycz (74, 153, T-78).

USC Aiken, the lone Division II team in the field, posted the worst round of the day at 302. The Pacers finished in 16th place at 593, placing ahead of Georgia Southern (595) and Houston (598).

Jeff Goff, a USC Aiken senior, carded 75 and finished in a tie for 37th place at 146. Pacers junior Roberto Diaz rebounded from an opening 82 with 16 pars en route to 72 to finish in a tie for 83rd. Kevin Grady (75, 148) finished in a tie for 53rd and was followed by Ashley Smith (80, 153, T-78) and J.P. Solis (81, 155, T-86).

Georgia Southern's Jordan Johnstun, of Evans, shot 75-77 to finish in a tie for 73rd place. South Carolina's Patrick Cunning, of Aiken, shot 77-77 for a tie for 83rd.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.

Champions Retreat Golf Club

Final round

Team: 552-UCLA (284-268). 569-Georgia (290-279), East Tennessee State (293-276). 573-South Carolina (296-277). 575-North Carolina (286-289). 577-Lamar (287-290), Georgia Tech (288-289). 578-Clemson (296-282). 579-Virginia Tech (295-284). 581-Tennessee (299-282). 584-N.C. State (289-295). 586-Augusta State (299-287), Georgia State (298-288). 590-Minnesota (303-287). 591-Coastal Carolina (301-290). 593-USC Aiken (291-302). 595-Georgia Southern (298-297). 598-Houston (299-299).

Individual: 134-Lucas Lee, UCLA (69-65). 136-Gareth Shaw, East Tennessee State (69-67). 138-Adam Mitchell, Georgia (70-68), Erik Flores, UCLA (71-67), Kevin Chappell, UCLA (70-68). 140-Mark Anderson, South Carolina (71-69); Clayton Rask, Minnesota (71-69); Kevin O'Connell, North Carolina (72-69). 141-David Dannelly, Coastal Carolina (73-68). 142-Harris English, Georgia (72-70); Mark Silvers, South Carolina (76-66); Kyle Stanley, Clemson (71-71); Jurrian van der Vaart, Virginia Tech (74-68); Drew Weaver, Virginia Tech (74-68).

Other scores of interest: 143-Keith Guest, Augusta State (71-72); Henrik Norlander (74-69). 146-Jeff Goff, USC Aiken (71-75). 148-Kevin Grady, USC Aiken (73-75). 150-Olle Bengtsson, Augusta State (77-73); Carter Newman, Augusta State (77-73). 152-Jordan Johnstun, Georgia Southern (75-77). 153-Mitch Krywulycz, Augusta State (79-74); Ashley Smith, USC Aiken (73-80). 154-Roberto Diaz, USC Aiken (82-72), Patrick Cunning, South Carolina (77-77). 155-J.P. Solis (74-81).

From the Monday, April 07, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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