Rice University Athletics
Rice University
60th Border Olympics
Whitehead Captures First Collegiate Title
3/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 26, 2011
60th Border Olympics Final Results 
LAREDO - Rice University senior Michael Whitehead fired a 10-under par 62 Saturday en route to a two-stroke victory at the 60th Border Olympics. The championship is Whitehead's first individual title in an intercollegiate event and comes after finishing as the runner-up on three different occasions this season.
Whitehead's 62 on Saturday was a Rice record for an 18-hole round and established a new course record at the Laredo Country Club.
As a team, the Owls established a new team record for a round, finishing Saturday's play with a 14-under par 274. The final round elevated the Owls from a tie for eighth heading into the day to a fourth-place finish.
Rice concluded the tournament with an 848 (-16) score for the 54-hole tournament. No. 18 Arkansas won the team title with an 832 (-32). The Razorbacks won the championship by five strokes over No. 28 Oklahoma. Baylor finished third at the tournament with an 844 (-18) team score.
"This gives us nothing but confidence heading into Ole Miss next week," Rice head coach Drew Scott said. "We had four of the same players we traveled with to Oregon and those four also traveled to Louisiana Tech. We're just kind of getting it all together. We had a good practice round on Thursday and even though we didn't play that well Friday morning, the guys were fired up."
The Owls' final tournament before the Conference USA Championship will begin a week from Monday when the squad travels to the University of Mississippi-hosted Bankcorp South Intercollegiate which will be played at Reunion Country Club in Madison, Miss. The C-USA Championship is April 24-26.
Whitehead's final round on Saturday was flawless, starting with a birdie on his first hole following the shotgun start. His 10 birdies included four straight on No. 16, 17, 18 and 1 then three more in a row at Nos. 4, 5 and 6.
"I have been hitting the ball really well for the past two years but my putting has been much better this spring," Whitehead said. "Putting is something I have really focused on this semester.
"After so many runner-up finishes (four in the past two years), I really wanted to win a tournament," Whitehead added. "And it is so much better winning this way, playing a solid round not having to hang on at the end. It feels really good."
Scott added, "I know Michael wanted to win and this does nothing to help his chances to be voted an All-American at the end of the year."
In addition to Whitehead `s record performance on Saturday, Rice freshman Chris Contreras birdied his final two holes to finish with a three-under par 69 while Jeff Wibawa, another rookie, also shot a final-round 69.
Wibawa finished with a two-under par 214 for the tournament to tie for 21st in the individual standings.
"Sometimes it is just really contagious," Scott said. "I know everyone wanted to contribute. It was a lot of fun. The guys were not scared and they played really aggressive."
All five Rice players contributed to the Owls' final team score. Junior Erik Mayer shot a collegiate career tournament low 69 Friday afternoon. All three of sophomore Brock Wilson's rounds figured into the Rice team score.
Players Mentioned
