UCLA, Morales Sweep Big Ten Men's Golf Titles; Minnesota's Crousore Is T7

TIMONIUM, Md. -- The Big Ten now has the distinction of being the most mis-labeled conference in American Sports. There aren't really 10 teams anymore. Not 12 either, as was the case after Penn State and Nebraska joined. And not 14, which was the actual number after Maryland and Rutgers came aboard. There are, in fact, 18 schools in the Big Ten, with the addition of the West Coast refugees from what used to the Pac 10, or was it Pac 12?

As a result, a more accurate title for the conference might be the Coast to Coast. 

In any case, UCLA made an impressive debut in the Big Ten Men's Golf Championship this weekend. Not only did Bruins senior Omar Morales take over the individual lead in the second round and go on to claim a three-stroke victory on Sunday with an impressive final round of even-par 70 in less than ideal scoring conditions at Baltimore Country Club's Five Farms Course, but the UCLA team rallied from eight strokes behind at the start of the day to claim the team title, as well.

UCLA would appear to be the new kid on the Big Ten block. Illinois has pretty much owned the conference in golf for a decade and a half. Going into this year's tournament, the Illini had won the team championship 13 times in 15 years. The Illini seemed well on the way to making it 14 of 16 going into the final round, and they were still in control with nine holes to go. But UCLA, playing ahead of Illinois  put together a strong back nine, and the Illini wilted. Max Herendeen, the Illini's No. 1 player for most ot the last two years, personified the collapse.

The sophomore from Bellevue, Wash., shot 63 in the first round on Friday, but fell back with a 74 in the second round. He was still in the hunt for the individual championship, however, and he was hanging in there early in Sunday's round, with two birdies and one bogey in the first six holes. But he played the last 12 holes in eight over on his way to a 77, and he ended up in a tie for 19th place at 214.

You could make the case that UCLA won it, more than Illinois lost it. The Bruins played their way through the wind and cold, and some rain, and posted a four-player total of 282. No other team broke 290 on Sunday. 

That gave UCLA an overall total of 842, and the Bruins finished one ahead of Illinois. Michigan State was a distant third, 11 behind the Illini at 854. Oregon was fourth, right behind the Spartans at 855, and Ohio State was fifth with an 857.

The one bright spot for Illinois down the stretch Sunday was Jake Birdwell. A former Minnesota state high school champion from Sprinig Lake Park, Birdwell was the anchor in the Illini lineup, and after they fell behind, he needed to birdie the last two holes to salvage a tie for the team title. He nearly did it. Having massacred his tee shot at the 455-yard, par-4 17th, he hit a wedge to back of the green, 18 feet from the cup -- and made the putt. Birdwell came up with another bomb at the 18th. That hole was playing 496 yards on Sunday, and he had a second shot of just over 100 yards. He hit that one to 12 feet, but hit the putt through the break and he to settle for a par. 

That par gave him a 71 and a three-day aggregate of 207, which put him in a tie for third in the individual standings, along with Yang Kuang of Maryland. Kuang closed with a 70.

Morales claimed medalist honors with a total of 203. The Bruins' All-American was solid throughout the tournament, and even though his lead wasn't that big, he never seemed all  that threatened on Sunday. He gave himself some breathing room by making birdies on both of the Five Farms par 5s, the 586-yard fourth hole and the 606-yard 12th. His two bogeys over the final six holes didn't matter. Oregon's Greyson Leach matched Morales' 70, and finished second at 206. 

As for Minnesota, the Gophers struggled, especially on the back nine. They wound up with a 305 and fell back from fifth place at the start ot the day to 10th at the end, with an 866. 

Jack Crousore, the freshman from South Carolina, also lost ground. He shot 69 on Friday and backed it up with a 66 on Saturday, which had him in second at 135, just two behind Morales. On Sunday, he bogeyed the long, 504-yard par-4 third hole, birdied the par-5 fourth and bogeyed the par-3 seventh, but settled down and parred the next five holes. At thtat point, he was still within sight of Morales, and 4 under for the tournament. Crousore bogeyed the 13th and 14th holes, got one shot back with a birdie at the 15th, but made a triple bogey at the 380-yard, par-4 16th, which knocked him out of the top five. Even so, he did finish in the top 10 with his final-round 75, tying for seventh with a total of 210.     


Big Ten Men's Golf Championships

At Baltimore CC - Five Farms Course

Par 70, 7,177 yards

Timonium, Md. 

Final results 

1. UCLA                   278-282-282--842 (plus 2)

2. Illinois                  270-282-291--843

3. Michigan State    281-283-290--854

4. Oregon                279-279-297--855

5. Ohio State           282-279-296--857
   
T6. Maryland          280-282-296--858

T6. Wisconsin        282-282-294--858

8. Indiana               277-282-301--860

9. Purdue                285-285-293--863

10. Minnesota        281-280-305--866

11. So. California      288-279-300-867

12. Northwestern      284-288-296--868
 
13. Nebraska            287-287-300--874

14. Iowa                    294-289-293--876

15. Michigan             288-283-308--879

16. Penn State          289-291-303--883

16. Washington         290-289-306--885

15. Rutgers                283-293-310--886

Individual results 

1. Omar Morales, UCLA                   66-67-70--203 (minus 7)

2. Greyson Leach, Oregon               68-68-70--206

T3. Jake Birdwell,, Illinois              68-68-71--207

T3. Yang Kuang, Maryland               67-70-70--207

T5. Emil Riegger, Maryland               68-70-71--209

T5. Lorenzo Pinili, Michigan State     70-68-71--209

T7. Jack Crousore, Minnesota       69-66-75--210

T7. Jay Gould-Healy                          67-69-74--210

T7. Tyler Sabo, Ohio State                 69-69-72--210

T7. Ryan Voois, Illinois                       67-73-70--210

T23. Cormac Sharpe, Minnesota     72-71-73--216

T50. Chun-Ta Wu, Minnesota           72-72-77--221

T65. Eduardo Galdos, Minnesota     68-75-80--223

T72. Bennett Swavely, Minnesota     73-71-80--224