Sept. 1, 2009

Final Golfweek Conference Challenge Results in PDF Format

RIVERSIDE, Iowa - For the second straight day, the Baylor men's golf team struggled with its short game as the Bears finished fifth Tuesday at Golfweek's Conference Challenge at Blue Top Ridge.

Baylor matched its team score from Monday's second round, shooting 7-over 295 during Tuesday's final round. Florida State won the Challenge, firing a 7-under 281 to finish at 11-under 853 for the tournament. The host Iowa Hawkeyes finished second at 3-under 861, followed by Coastal Carolina (+2 866) in third and California (+5 869) in fourth.

Florida State's Drew Kittleson and Iowa's Brad Hopfinger shared individual medalist honors, each finishing at 9-under 207.

"It was the same story as yesterday - we're missing a lot of timely putts and not converting enough birdie putts," Baylor head men's golf coach Greg Priest said. "We hit the ball exactly the same way as the other teams, but those other teams are better with their putts, chips and wedges.

"It's early, but now we know what we need to work on those areas and prepare ourselves for the next tournament," Priest said.

Junior Payne Gniewek, who shared the lead after the first round, shot a 3-over 75 Tuesday. Gniewek was Baylor's top finisher in 12th place with an even-par 216. The Trenton, Mich., native birdied the par-4 No. 1, but carded four bogeys the rest of the way to finish three shots over par.

"We still don't know much about Payne because he's only been here for a week," Priest said. "Overall, I thought he played really well. He put in a solid tournament and you can tell he can play. He'll help us out a lot."

Sophomores Lorenzo Scotto and Joakim Mikkelsen carded Baylor's lowest scores of the final round, each tallying a 1- over 73. Scotto finished tied for 17th overall with a 2-over 218, followed by Mikkelsen in 22nd at 3-over 219.

Morten Bergan finished tied for 30th at 6-over 222. Cody Paladino shot a 2-over 74 Tuesday to finish tied for 41st at 8-over 224.

The men's golf team returns to action at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate Fri., Sept. 11 and Sat., Sept. 12 in Albuquerque, N.M.

NOTES: Baylor men's golf was one of 45 NCAA Division I programs nationally to earn All-Academic Team recognition (3.0 GPA or better) Monday by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

TEAM RESULTS

BAYLOR INDIVIDUAL RESULTS