Pugh leads Bucs in Eugene

EUGENE, Ore. (May 17, 2014) – After making a move in Friday’s second round, the ETSU men’s golf team couldn’t propel its way into the top five as the Buccaneers finished tied for eighth at the Eugene Regional on Saturday at the Eugene Country Club.

The Bucs began the final round six shots back from fifth-place, but after carding a 20-over 300, No. 57 ETSU and No. 35 Liberty finished the regional tied for eighth at 49-over-par 889 (296-293-300). In the end, the Blue and Gold – who were led by junior Rhys Pugh (Pontypridd, Wales) – ended nine shots back from advancing to their 18th NCAA Championship.

Pugh led the Bucs all weekend and finished in a three-way tie for 16th at 7-over-par 217 (72-69-76), while sophomore Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) bounced back from his 76 on Friday by posting a 1-over 71 in Saturday’s final round. Meronk was one of nine golfers to finish tied for 22nd at 10-over-par 220 (73-76-71).

Despite shooting a 15-over 295 in the final round, No. 4 Stanford managed to hold off conference rival and No. 44 Oregon for the regional title. The Cardinal won the regional by one stroke over the Ducks – who fired a 5-over 285 on Saturday – 853 to 854. Meanwhile, No. 19 Oklahoma (+20), No. 10 Houston (+35) and No. 22 South Carolina (+40) rounded out the top five and all advanced to the NCAA Championship.

Stanford made it a clean sweep as Patrick Rodgers won the individual championship by six strokes over Oregon’s Thomas Lim. Rodgers, the third-ranked golfer by Golfstat, finished the regional at 6-under-par 204 (66-67-71), while Lim recorded the lowest round on Saturday by going 4-under 66. Lim wrapped up the regional at even-par 210 (74-70-66), while Chattanooga’s Chris Robb tied for third at 2-over-par 212 (67-72-73) and advanced to the NCAA Championship as an individual.

Sophomore Chris Hickman (Centreville, Md.) tied for 36th (+13) and Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) finished 63rd (+23).

The Bucs concluded the 2013-14 season advancing to their 23rd NCAA Regional and return all six golfers for the 2014-15 season.

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!

For more information on Buccaneer men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s golf page.