Online only: Golf places 13th at Border Olympics

By Paul Fitzgerald     3/11/10 6:00pm

With two spring tournaments under its belt, the golf team entered the Border Olympics with high hopes. A solid first round only reinforced the team's confidence, but the wheels fell off Rice's performance after that, leading to a disappointing 12th-place finish.Freshman Jade Scott, one of two Rice golfers to have won an individual title this season, led the Owls with an opening round 70. Junior Michael Whitehead and senior Michael Buttacavoli were not far behind, posting 71 and 72, respectively. Combined with senior Christopher Brown's 75, the Owls' score of 288 put them one shot back of the University of Arkansas.

Yet Rice could not continue their stellar performance in the second round, despite playing in the same conditions on the same course. Scott once again had the low score for Rice, this time with a score of 77. Brown shot a 78, with Buttacavoli and Whitehead close behind him. Rice's cumulative score of 316 left them in 13th place out of 18 teams.

Buttacavoli had trouble finding an explanation for the team's poor performance on Friday afternoon.

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"I don't know exactly what happened; I think we might have lost some steam," Buttacavoli said. "We knew that we entered the second 18 close to the lead, and I don't think we got overanxious or overconfident, I think some of us just got tired."

Sitting in the back of the field, Rice looked to make up some of the difference during Saturday's final round of play. Buttacavoli led the Owls with an even-par 72, leaving him in a tie for 28th. Jade Scott's final-round 73 left him in a tie for 13th place, suggesting the freshman is regaining the strong form he displayed throughout the fall.

For all its hard work, however, Rice's score of 303 only moved it up to 12th place. The Owls were hurt by disappointing performances from their other team members, as they had to count an 81 and 82 during the tournament's final two rounds, hurting their cumulative team score.

After a terrific season thus far, some might worry about a shock to the team's confidence. Rice had finished no lower than fifth in their previous four tournaments before the Border Olympics.

Despite this, Head Coach Drew Scott (Wiess '98) felt his team had the mental strength to come back strong.

"We had a poor tournament in the fall at San Antonio, where we lost to some teams that we should not have lost to," Scott said. "I think that was motivation enough then for the guys, and hopefully one poor tournament here in the spring will ignite the guys."

Rice will hope to use its poor performance at the Border Olympics, which was won by Texas State University, as motivation as it moves forward to the Louisiana Tech Invitational. The event, to be played at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, La., takes place on a course that Rice is familiar with. Despite a disappointing first round that saw the Owls shoot a 296, the team still finished third, a fact not lost on Scott.

"We are going to have several guys that have played there before, so it should be familiar territory," Scott said. "I think they'll be motivated for high individual finishes, but more motivated for the solid team effort."

Buttacavoli and Scott were both able to finish in the top 10 at the Squire Creek Invitational, while Whitehead also finished in the top 20. While Buttacavoli felt the familiarity with the course would aid Rice, he cited the team's hunger as the reason for his optimism.

"Just like any other tournament, we expect to win, and just because we played poorly doesn't mean we lose all hope," Buttacavoli said. "I know since Saturday we've been practicing hard and we want to prove we can go out there and compete.

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