John Pak wins the Seminole as Washington takes the team title
- Florida State men's golf photo
Junior All-American John Pak earned his second straight individual championship this weekend with an 11-under (70-66-69) performance at the Seminole Intercollegiate held at Golden Eagle Country Club.
Pak is Florida State’s second two-time champion of the tournament, joining Nolan Henke who won in 1985 and 1987. This is Pak’s seventh tournament title, sitting one shy of Henke’s program record eight.
“I don’t think about it a whole lot, but it’s there in the back of my head,” Pak said of trying to match Henke’s career wins record. “It would be nice to surpass someone as good as Nolan Henke. It’s definitely been a goal.”
There are only a handful of golfers around the country that can match the repertoire of the All-American Pak. Pak’s quiet start by his standards was gladly interrupted by three birdies over a five-hole stretch and an impressive eagle on 18 that provided him a five-stroke lead after two rounds on Saturday.
He followed with a 3-under on the final day that featured three straight birdies on holes 9-11 to hold sole possession of the individual leaderboard throughout the final round.
“My short game was on point this week,” Pak added. “I didn’t hit the ball as well as I liked and with that cold weather yesterday, it was hard getting things going. That short game saved me on some holes in the first 18 and it really helped.”
The 17th ranked University of Washington won its fourth tournament of the year on Sunday as it took home the team title. Washington held a commanding lead during the final 18 holes en route to their three round score of 9-under 855 (289-288-278).
Washington led the field with 53 birdies, two eagles and were 13-under on the par 5's of the course. During Sunday's final round, three Dawgs finished with scores of 4-under 68 and three Huskies placed in the top 10.
"This was a total team effort win by our group today," said assistant coach Thomas Sutton. "To have two freshman finish in the top 10 in a tough field is great for the future of our program and Noah just continues to be solid for us which is great to see. We're learning what each guy needs to work on but we're excited to get this win and continue to get better as we progress in the spring season."
Junior Noah Woolsey was Washington's top finisher as he posted a round three score of 4-under 68 to climb 11 spots on the leaderboard to finish fourth overall at 2-under 214 (74-72-68). The junior improved upon his score during every round saving his best for last on Sunday when he carded a six birdies. It is Woolsey's fourth top 10 finish of the season over seven tournaments.
Thanks to Florida State and Washington Men's Golf for these reports.
ABOUT THE Seminole Intercollegiate
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by
Florida State University. Team (best four scores out
of
five players) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information