Rice University
Conference USA Championship
Rice Closes Play at C-USA Championship
4/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 22, 2008
Conference USA Championship Final Results in PDF Format 
TEXARKANA, Ark. - Rice freshman Michael Whitehead's hole-in-one on the par-3, 11th hole and his eagle on the par-4 ninth during the final round of the Conference USA Golf Championship highlighted the Owls' play Tuesday on the Texarkana Country Club course.
As a team, Rice struggled for the second straight day, shooting a 310 score Tuesday to fall to 11th place at the 54-hole championship. The Owls finished with a three-round score of 902 (+38).
The Owls began their round on the back nine.
Despite the ace on No. 11, Whitehead was +1 at the turn. He was two over par before an eagle on the final hole of his round allowed him to card an even-round 72. He wrapped up his first C-USA championship with a three-round score of 220 (+4) and finished in a tie for 17th at the tournament.
Following the tournament, Whitehead was selected to the 2008 Conference USA All-Freshman Team by the league's coaches.
Junior Kyle Kelley shared honors as the Owls' leading golfer for both the second and third round. On Tuesday, he shot a one-over par 73 to also finish with a three-round score of 220 (+4) and tie for 17th.
Rounds of 68 and 66 earlier in the week allowed UAB's Zach Sucher to shoot a one-over par 73 Tuesday and still capture the individual championship by two strokes over teammate Brad Smith. Sucher, who had a three round score of 207 (-9), and Smith, who carded a 209, helped pace the Blazers to the team title.
The Blazers finished the tournament with a 54-hole score of 857 (-7) to win the championship by nine strokes. Southern Miss was second (866) while second round leader Memphis was +12 as a team Tuesday and settled for third with a three-round score of 868.
Players Mentioned
