May 21, 2005

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Lamar turned in its best-ever regional showing, however its bid to advance to the NCAA Championships came up one-stroke short as the Cardinals finished in 12th place following Saturday's final round at the NCAA Central Regional hosted by Notre Dame at Warren Golf Course.

Lamar posted a final round 289 on Saturday and finished with a 54-hole score of 876. Purdue and Wichita State tied for 10th place at 875 and the Boilermakers won a playoff on the first hole to advance to the NCAA Championships June 1-4 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owing Mills, Md.

"We played so good today and made our best run at advancing to the NCAA Championships," said ninth-year Lamar coach Brad McMakin, who played on Oklahoma's 1989 NCAA Championship team. "I'm just disappointed for the kids. You just never know when you are going to be this close to advancing, you hate to miss out by one shot.

"You have to play three great rounds to advance. It doesn't matter who you are or where you are ranked nationally, you have to prove it on the course. We're going to try to get better and make another run at it next year. That's all we can do."

Freshman Dawie Van Der Walt fired a 1-under par 69 on Saturday and tied for 14th place at 3-over par 213. He posted five birdies and four bogeys on his round. He shot a 1-under par 34 on the back-nine, which is considered the tougher nine on the par-70, 7,011-yard course.

Sophomore Dusty Smith, who enter the final round tied for 11th place, slipped into a tie for 30th following his final round of 5-over 75 for a 54-hole score of 7-over 217. He had one birdie and six bogeys on his round.

Senior Andre Metzger posted a final round 2-over 70 and tied for 50th at 220. He had one birdie and three bogeys on Saturday. Sophomore Ryan Kornmann shot a final round 78 and tied for 116 at 231.

Senior Shawn Stefani closed with a final round 3-over 73 and tied for 120 with a 54-hole score of 233. A Baytown native, Stefani made three birdies on the day and made the turn at 1-under par 34.

Lamar's previous best finish at the NCAA Central Regional was a tie for 13th place in 2003. In placing 12th, the Cardinals finished ahead of bigger named schools like Baylor, Michigan State, host Notre Dame, Minnesota, TCU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.

Augusta State turned in the day's best round at 1-over 281 and claimed the team title with a 54-hole score of 849. Oklahoma State, the 36-hole leader, was second at 858 and Texas A&M was third at 863.

The top 10 teams and two individuals not on one of those teams advanced to the NCAA Championships. Korey Mahoney of Eastern Michigan, who placed fourth at 2-under 208, and Judd Easterling of Wichita State, who tied for fifth at 1-under 209, were the two individuals to advance.