Reeves propels Arizona to sweep of Pac-12 titles
- Arizona Men's Golf photo
Arizona won the Pac-12 Championship on Wednesday at Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa by four shots over rival Arizona State while Wildcat senior Brian Reeves claimed the individual title by defeating Stanford's Henry Shimp in a two-hole playoff.
The 16th-ranked Wildcats shot a 41-under score of 1399 on rounds of 344-352-355-348 at Mayacama Golf Club to claim their fourth conference title and first since 2004. It also marked the 'Cats third team victory of the season following wins at their own Arizona Intercollegiate in January and at the Prestige (tie) in February.
The tournament quickly became a two-team race as the two desert rivals separated themselves from the pack after blistering rounds on Monday. The Wildcats trailed the 9th-ranked Sun Devils by just one shot in the team standings after 36 holes of play on Monday and before rising to the top of the leaderboard on Tuesday, four strokes clear of Arizona State. The Sun Devils failed to mount a charge on Wednesday and could only match the 'Cats 12-under 348 on the final day.
Arizona's Trevor Werbylo earned a tie for eighth place at 7-under 281 while fifth-year senior shot 15 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 17th place following a final round 66 left him at 283 (-5) for the tournament. Stanford made the biggest move up the leaderboard on Wednesday as the Cardinal took apart the par-72, 6,785-yard Mayacama layout, a first-time host of the event. The Cardinal posted the second-best team round in relation to par in championship history at 24-under 336 to climb into third place at 35-under 1405.
Reeves, a senior from Woodbridge, Calif., shot a third round 67 and was tied for the 54-hole lead with Ryggs Johnston of Arizona State and Yuki Moriyama of Oregon as 12-under 204. But it was Stanford senior Henry Shimp, who began the day four off the pace, who mounted the biggest charge on Wednesday, carding a career-best 8-under 64 to tie Reeves at 16-under par. The final round 64, which featured seven birdies and an eagle, matched the Mayacama course record and was the 11th lowest round in Stanford history. Shimp's eagle came on the par-5 18th hole and briefly gave him solo possession of the lead. However, Reeves birdied the 18th to pull even with Shimp to force a playoff. After the players exchanged pars on the first hole, Reeves won the individual title with a tap in birdie on 18 while Shimp could only muster a par.
The Pac-12 figures to be well-represented in the upcoming NCAA Regionals when the field is announced on Wednesday, May 5 on GOLF Channel.
ABOUT THE Pac-12 Championship
72-hole men's collegiate championship of the
Pac-12 Conference with simultaneous team and
individual competitions. Unlike most college
tournaments, the best five scores of six players
account for the team score each day.
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