Texas Tech wins Amer Ari Invitational, Fredrik Nilehn Medals
2/4/2017 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: View results for The Amer Ari Invitational, Mauna Lani Resort Golf Course - North Course
Texas Tech's Fredrik Nilehn won medalist honors thanks to a playoff victory over USC's Rico Hoey and Arizona State's Jared du Toit
WAIKOLA, HI (February 4, 2017) -- It was a clean
sweep for No. 17 Texas Tech at the Amer Ari
Invitational. The Red Raiders overcame a one-stroke
deficit to finish 44-under and win the team title while
in
a sudden death playoff junior Fredrik Nilehn claimed
the
individual championship. In the two hole playoff
Nilehn outdueled USC's Rico Hoey and Arizona
State's Jared du Toit.
"It was incredible," Texas Tech head coach Greg
Sands
said. "We played great one-through-five. I think the
highest score we had all week was an even-par 72,
so
we pretty much had red numbers all week. I'm super
proud of the guys. They worked hard, and this is a
preview of what's to come."
No. 7 USC began the day at Waikoloa Kings' Course
in
front but they were quickly
overtaken by the surging Red Raiders. On Saturday
Texas Tech rallied to the lead thanks to a lineup full
of
under-par rounds that resulted in all five players
finishing inside the top-29.
Behind Nilehn it was Federico Zucchetti (T5; -11),
Hannes Ronneblad (T13; -8), Ivan Ramirez (T13; -8)
and Hurly Long (T29; -4).
Texas Tech was led all week by Fredrik Nilehn, who
tallied rounds of 66-67-67 to finish 16-under. After
beginning the final round in second place and three-
strokes off the lead Nilehn spent much of the day
hovering around the lead but it wasn't until some
late
heroics did he join the lead.
With two holes remaining Nilehn was 2-under for the
day and at 13-under seemingly poised for a top-5
finish.
However, Nilehn had a different type of finish in
mind.
On the 17th Nilehn rolled in a birdie to pull a stroke
closer, thus setting the stage for his final hole eagle
on
the par-5 18th.
The top-5 of the individual standings was rounded
out
by Stanford's Maverick McNealy in fourth at 14-under
and Colorado's Jeremy Paul; Federico Zucchetti of
Texas Tech shared fifth at 11-under.
In the team standings USC ended up in second place
at
36-under, No. 22 Oregon was third at 26-under while
Arizona State and Colorado shared fourth at 23-
under.
The highest ranked team of the seven Bushnell
Golfweek Coaches Poll top-25 teams in the field is
No. 4
Oklahoma State and they finished 13-under to share
seventh.
-Texas Tech athletics contributed to this story
That eagle forced second round leader and playing partner, USC senior Rico Hoey, to convert his birdie try just to force a playoff. Hoey took over the lead on Friday with a career best 9-under 63 before capping his week with a 2-under 70. Joining Nilehn and Hoey in the playoff would be Arizona State senior Jared du Toit. Starting the day four back, du Toit, the first round co-leader teed off on No. 4 and used a 6-under 66 to punch his ticket into the playoff. Throughout the round du Toit penciled in eight birdies and two bogeys. Du Toit's best stretch of golf came when he birdied Nos. 13-16 in succession. Back to Nilehn, he is currently playing his first season with the Red Raiders after transferring from Kennesaw State following his sophomore year. While at Kennesaw State, Nilehn was twice an Atlantic Sun Second Team All-Conference player. Nilehn started his Texas Tech career with a bang last fall by winning medalist honors at the Carmel Cup. "It feels great," Nilehn said. "I came off an injury in December and had to work really hard, so it feels great to be back in the winners' circle. Not only that, but it was a great week. To win here as a team made it fun for all of us. I'm excited for this semester ."Fredrik hits one last laser on 18th hole and makes eagle to tie for the individual win. #confidentswede pic.twitter.com/znj Yoe OvvQ
— Texas Tech Mens Golf (@TTUMensGolf) February 4, 2017
BOOM!! Freddy drains the 15 footer for the individual victory! Topping off a great week for the Red Raiders! pic.twitter.com/sG kfu vJWMY
— Texas Tech Mens Golf (@TTUMensGolf) February 5, 2017
Results: The Amer Ari Invitational
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | , Sweden | 800 | 66-67-67=200 | |
| T2 | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | 500 | 67-63-70=200 | |
| T2 | , Canada | 500 | 64-70-66=200 | |
| 4 | Portola Valley, CA | 400 | 68-66-68=202 | |
| T5 | , Germany | 400 | 70-69-66=205 |
About the The Amer Ari Invitational
The Amer Ari Intercollegiate -- hosted by the University of Hawaii-Hilo -- has brought some of the best golfers in the nation to the west side of the Big Island annually since its inception in 1992. From Tiger Woods to Jordan Spieth to Matt Kuchar, t...
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