Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Ben Hogan Cougar Classic
Golf Braves Bad Weather to Finish Eighth in Utah
4/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 21, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - The Bulldogs stuggled amidst rain, hail and extreme cold in the Ben Hogan Cougar Classic hosted at the Riverside Country Club by Brigham Young in Provo, Utah this weekend. Fresno State finished eighth with their 54-hole score of 876.
San Diego State won the tournament with 848 and UC Santa Barbara their closest follower at 865. San Diego State also boasted the individual winner in Lars Johansson who shot a 7-under 209 as well as the number two finisher in John Lepak who shot 68-72-71-211.
After dropping out of the top 20 in the last two tournaments, sophomore Nick Watney resumed his role finishing in a tie for sixth. Watney led the Bulldogs in scoring, finishing 74-68-71-213, 3-under par and one stroke out of third.
Two `Dogs finished at T30, juniors Jonathon Echols and Dustin Smith. Both ended with a 5-over 221. Echols, who has been fighting the flu all week, blasted off strong shooting 68 in round one, but falling off finishing 77-76. Smith did just the opposite starting with a strong 76 and scaling down 75-70 from there. Senior Wes Lovell finished of the qualifying lineup with a 77-73-75-225, garnering a T48 spot.
Also competing for the Bulldogs were sophomore Daniel Timmons and freshman Brandon Coats. Timmons finished at T71 shooting 80-73-77-230 and Coats at T80, shooting 80-75-79-234.
The `Dogs will now have a week off to prepare for the WAC Championships. The tournament will be hosted on April 20-May 2 by Tulsa in Broken Arrow, Okla. With the exchanges of tournament defeats that the WAC schools have been having, the championships will be an integral tournament in deciding NCAA Championship participation.
