April 20, 2005
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FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Senior Andreas Hoegberg shot the low round of the day Wednesday with a 2-under-par 69, but it was not enough to carry UCF to victory as the Golden Knights finished third in the Atlantic Sun Championships, five shots behind Georgia State and one shot behind North Florida at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
With the win, Georgia State claimed the A-Sun's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Golf Championships. The Panthers finished the 54-hole event a 6-under-par 846 after posting an even-par 284 in the final round. UCF's 5-over-par 289 Wednesday dropped the Golden Knights to 1-under-par for the championship.
UCF started the day tied for second with Georgia State, two shots behind North Florida. By the time the teams completed the first nine holes UCF had cut that gap to a single stroke, while Georgia State made up two shots and entered the final nine deadlocked with the Ospreys. Six teams began the day within seven shots of the lead, but that turned into a three-team race by the round's mid-point.
UCF freshman Ben Leong shot even-par 71 Wednesday and completed his best tournament of the year with a tie for second, while Hoegberg finished alone in fourth. Both players earned all-tournament honors for their efforts.
Leong started the day three shots out of the lead and cut the deficit to one shot after posting a 1-under-par 34 on the front side. A triple bogey on the par-4 10th hole dropped him well back, but he rallied to finish the day tied with Georgia State's Ben Taylor, two shots behind Jacksonville's Duncan Stewart, who finished the event at 9-under-par.
Leong, who chipped his ball into the water from the back of the 10th green, was not the only player to have trouble with that hole as a tricky pin placement and fast greens led to seven players putting the ball into the water.
UCF freshman Giwon Suh made the turn at 2-under-par, but a quadruple bogey on the 12th hole changed the direction of this round and he wound up posting a 5-over-par 76. He was UCF's next highest finisher in the individual standings at 2-over-par 215, which was good enough for a tie for 14th. Junior Sonny Nimkhum tied for 43rd and freshman Preston Brown tied for 45th.
The regular season is over for the Golden Knights, who will now wait for a potential at-large bid the NCAA Regionals which will be announced in early May.