Fresno State Athletics
Men's Golf Starts Spring Season
2/19/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 19, 2001
Bulldogs Return to Action
The Bulldog golf team will resume competition for the first time since October this week. The `Dogs will be traveling to Hawaii for the first tournament of the Spring season on Wednesday, Feb. 21 and the tournament will conclude on Friday, Feb. 23. The Hawai'i Warriors are hosting the tournament at the Leilehua Golf Course in Honolulu.
Championships Just Around the Corner
With the start of the spring season, the WAC Championships will soon be approaching. This season the tournament is being hosted by Tulsa in Broken Arrow, Okla. The tournament begins on Apr. 30 and will conclude on May 2. Last season the Bulldogs walked away from the Golf Club at Castle Hills in Lewisville, Texas with the WAC Championship title. The team scored a three-round total of 856 to beat out the other seven WAC teams. The Bulldogs are looking to hold on to their title, having beat out WAC schools in three of their four, fall-season tournaments.
The Incredible Mr. Watney
Sophomore Nick Watney (Dixon, Calif.) continues to amaze with his phenomenal skills on the links. Being the lone freshman on last year's squad, Watney competed in 11 tournaments last season, including the WAC, NCAA West Regional and NCAA Championships. He tied for ninth in the NCAA West Regional and was awarded the WAC freshman of the year award. Watney has a career average of 72.89, scoring his low of 68 multiple times. He qualified for the 2000 U.S. Amateur and was chosen by Golf World magazine this fall as one of the seven top sophomores in the country. He currently stands as the second highest ranked individual in the WAC with his Golfweek/Sagrain ranking of 41, behind SMU's Franklin Hackett. His Golfstat ranking of 68th is fourth in the WAC. He was also the first Bulldog in four years to win a tournament when he tied the Inverness course record low of 68, and Michigan's Scott Hayes with a three-round total of 213.
`Dogs Struggle at Stanford
Fresno State wrapped up their fall season at Stanford on Sunday Oct. 29. The `Dogs placed 15th with their score of 898. Nick Watney led the Bulldogs placing T20 after shooting 75-76-68-219. Junior Jonathan Echols (Hanford, Calif.) tied for 27th with 70-73-77-220. Freshman Chad Spencer (Rocklin, Calif.) shot 69-78-76-223 to tie for 40th. Junior Dustin Smith (Crescent City, Calif.) finished 91st and freshman Brent Vail (Ft. Collins, Colo.) tied for 94th, having shot 80-81-78-239 and 79-86-76-241 respectively. Duke won the tournament with 862 and North Carolina State finishing second with 866.
THIS WEEKFeb. 21-23 Wed.-Fri. John Burns Invitational Lelehua G.C. Honolulu, Hawaii
NEXT ACTIONMar. 5-6 Mon.-Tue. Cleveland Golf Classic North Ranch C.C. Los Angeles, Calif.
LAST ACTIONOct. 27-29 Fri.-Sun. The Nelson Stanford G.C. 15th
