Tom Johnson Fires a 69 and Finishes Fifth at Mercedes-Benz Championships
Feb. 10, 2004
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Led by Tom Johnson's three-under 69, Northwestern's men's golf team climbed two spots to finish 12th at the prestigious Mercedes-Benz Championships. The three-day tournament was held at Sawgrass Country Club, the former site of The Players Championship. Johnson's 69, the fourth-best individual round of the day, helped the 22nd-ranked Wildcats post a 2-over 290 for Tuesday's sixth-best team round. Northwestern finished a stroke behind 11th-place North Carolina State and six strokes behind 10th-place Georgia, the nation's third-ranked team. South Carolina, ranked 28th nationally, won the event by an easy 27 strokes. NU did finish ahead of eighth-ranked Augusta State (13th), 15th-ranked Duke (14th) and 10th-ranked North Carolina (16th). Johnson's (Sacramento, Calif./Del Campo) best round of the tournament vaulted him into a four-way tie for fifth place. The two-time honorable mention All-American finished even par (74-73-69=216) for the tournament. His final round consisted of five birdies, 12 pars and one double bogey. "Tom played some great golf the past few days," said NU coach Pat Goss. "This is the type of performance we've come to expect from him the past few years." Senior Casey Strunk (Phoenix, Ariz./Thunderbird) regained his form that helped him post the Wildcats' best fall scoring average. He shot a 1-under 71 to finish 12-over (82-75-71=228). He climbed from 59th to 43rd place on the final day.
Junior Dillon Dougherty (Woodland, Calif./Woodland) was 2-over on Tuesday, finishing 10-over (80-72-74=226) and in 38th place. Sophomore Bryson Young (Reno, Nev./Galena) and senior T.C. Ford (Covington, La./Mandeville) placed 72nd and 78th, respectively, at 22- and 23-over.
Final results for the tournament are available by linking to Mercedes-Benz Championships. Additional information on the tournament can be found at UNF Golf. The Wildcats return to action in two weeks, playing in the Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, P.R. on Feb. 22-24. |
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