Rice University
Conference USA Championship
Brown Claims Conference USA Title
4/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 27, 2010
2010 Conference USA Golf Championship Results 
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SORRENTO, Fla. - Rice University senior golfer Christopher Brown led the final round of the Conference USA Men's Golf Championship from start to finish Tuesday, firing a two-under par 70 to capture the individual league championship by five strokes.
Rice did not gain any ground on host UCF, finishing in a tie for second with Southern Miss in the final team standings. UCF shot a 10-under par 278 (-10) on Tuesday to close out the championship with a three-round score of 858 (-6). Rice was three-over par as a team on Tuesday, and along with Southern Miss, carded a three-round score of 876 (+12). SMU's 879 was good for fourth in the final team standings.
The Owls' play at the 2010 Conference USA Championship marked the team's best performance at a league championship event since the 1930s. Rice was a three-time Southwest Conference champion, the last title coming in 1939, and the Owls were twice the SWC runner-up (1935 and 1936). The team's best prior finish at the Conference USA Championship was seventh in 2006.
"We're disappointed we didn't win the championship, but we take away a ton of positives," said Rice coach Drew Scott. "We are just two years removed from finishing last at the conference tournament two years in a row. We have made some big strides in becoming a major contender in this conference. We didn't play our best today but our hats go off to UCF. They played outstanding today."
Brown was the only player at the championship to post three under-par rounds. He had an opening-round 70 on Sunday before a 69 on Monday gave him a two-stroke lead heading into the final 18 holes of golf. He finished with a three-round score of 209 (-7).
"Chris was really steady all week," Scott said. "We had some challenging weather and wind but he was in control of his game for all 54 holes. To win by five strokes is outstanding. What a nice way for him to culminate his year individually."
"We really wanted to catch UCF and win a team championship," Brown said. "I didn't know where we were as a team but I was trying to get us as far as I could. It helped me individually to know I needed to just keep my foot on the pedal."
Early in Tuesday's round, Brown birdied both the second and third holes before giving a shot back at No. 4. Another birdie at the par four, ninth hole allowed him to extend his tournament lead. The senior extended his lead with birdie putts at both No. 12 and No.13. Brown's only big hiccup of the tournament was a double-bogey at No. 17 but played the final hole even.
Brown's league championship marked the first time a Rice golfer claimed medalist honors at a conference championship since Mark Pfingston won the 1989 Southwest Conference championship. He is just the sixth Rice golfer to win a league championship, joining Joe Greenwood (1930), Ed Letscher (1939), Buddy Weaver (1950, 1951), John Garrett (1955) and Pfingston.
Brown began the 2010 spring season with another championship, winning the 10th Rice Intercollegiate presented by Srixon. This month started with a 10th-place finish at the Bancorp South Intercollegiate and then he rebounded from an opening-round 80 at the Jim West Intercollegiate to post back-to-back 70s en route to a tie for 18th at the Owls' final event before the Conference USA Championship.
"With the exception of one bad round, I have played pretty consistently the last few tournaments," Brown said. "This week I hit my irons really well. I just worked on making putts and playing smart."
In addition to Brown's play, Rice junior Michael Whitehead shot a 71 on Tuesday to finish with a three-round score of 218 (+2) and tie for 10th individually.
Both Michael Buttacavoli and Jade Scott shot three-over par 75s on Tuesday. With a three-round score of 224, Scott finished in a tie for 24th while Buttacavoli's 226 gave him a tie for 32nd in the individual standings.
With his individual championship, Brown earns an automatic berth into next month's NCAA Regionals. The Owls will have to wait until a May 10th NCAA conference call to see if the team receives an at-large bid to the regionals which will take place May 20-22 at six sites throughout the country.
The Owls' ledger this year includes a pair of team championships, three runner-up finishes and a total of eight tournaments in which the team finished in the Top 5.
"We played really steady except for about a month and a half," Drew Scott said. "But we are back on track as evident by our last couple of finishes. We'll know more in the coming days. The new Golfstat poll comes out tomorrow and we'll see if there were any surprise winners in some other conference tournaments which are wrapping up.
"I don't think we hurt our chances by finishing second and beating both Tulsa and SMU, which are a couple really good programs in our conference."
Players Mentioned
