Golf ends tourney in tie for 10th, UCF's best ever finish

The UCF Men's Golf team tied for 10th Thursday, picking up its best finish at the NCAA Championship in school history.

The Knights, No. 16 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, turned in a three-round total of 22-over-par 874 at the par-71 Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. However, the Knights were unable to qualify for the match-play portion of the championship, as only the top-8 teams advanced in the 30-team field.

"I think we played well," senior David Johnson said. "To come out against the best teams in the country and finish 10th is really good. We're all pretty proud of that, and overall I think it was a very successful season."

Oklahoma State ran away with the top seed for match-play after finishing stroke play at 3-under-par 849, 13 shots clear of Arizona State. The No. 1-ranked Cowboys aimed to claim their 11th national title but were upended by Georgia in the first round of match-play.

Arkansas and Texas A&M, two teams not heavily favored coming in, battled for the right be crowned the national champion Saturday.  No. 14 Texas A&M defeated No. 10 Arkansas 3-2 to claim its first national title.

USC, Arkansas and Washington all finished tied for third at 13-over-par 865 when play ended Thursday, advancing with Michigan, Texas A&M and Georgia.

UCF's previous best finish came in 1991, when it placed 12th.

To no surprise, freshman Blayne Barber was the Knights top-finisher.

After carding a 4-over-par round of 75 in the first round, Barber played his next 36-holes at 5-under-par to finish tied at 1-under-par 212, his ninth top-10 on the season.

In his final college appearance, Johnson, who was 117th after the first day, jumped 70 spots to finish tied for 47th at 7 over par.

Johnson has played in similar conditions during four USGA amateur championships and said he knew the challenges the course would offer heading into the tournament.

"It's a really tough golf course," Johnson said. "If you miss the fairway, you're basically going to have to chip back out before hitting your next shot because the rough is so long."

Making matters even more unfavorable were the torturous greens, all of which head coach Nick Clinard said were small and extremely quick.

"We just beat ourselves and threw a lot of shots away," Clinard said of the team missing out on advancing. "When you drive it a few yards out of the fairway into the rough, your chances of making par aren't really good."

Redshirt freshman Brad Schneider and junior Simon Ward finished tied for 79th at 11 over par, and junior Devin Spies finished tied for 127th at 17 over par out of 156 players.

With Johnson gone, the team will be left in the hands of the its young talent.

Barber and Schneider both proved they can compete at the college level and will become the team's foundation when next season gets underway.

"The program is in good hands and has come a long way … and is definitely headed in the right direction," Clinard said.

As for Johnson, he plans to play a full amateur schedule with six or seven tournaments during the summer.

If all goes to plan, he hopes to go to PGA Tour Qualifying School with hopes of getting his PGA Tour card.

But if that doesn't work out he said he may play the European or Canadian Tour.

"Coming to UCF was very productive for me," said Johnson, who transferred to UCF after two years at Brevard Community College. "I was able to get better and use the resources we have at UCF to better my game. I've learned a lot in my two years at UCF that will allow me to go forward and be successful."