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Oregon State's Diego Velasquez watches his birdie putt slide by the hole on No. 18. With the individual title already his, Velasquez needed that putt to give the Beavers the outright team championship.
(Joe Avento / Johnson City Press)

Vols capture Ridges tourney by tiebreaker over Oregon State

By Joe Avento
Press Sports Writer
javento@johnsoncitypress.com

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Diego Velasquez got his individual title in record-breaking fashion, but Tennessee picked up the team championship at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at The Ridges.

Velasquez, of Oregon State, shot his second consecutive 70 Sunday to win medalist honors by seven strokes. He finished the 54-hole tournament at 206, 10 under par and his margin of victory was a tournament record.

Tennessee and Oregon State finished tied in the team standings at three under par. While the NCAA will recognize both as having won a tournament, the Vols earned the hardware by virtue of a tiebreaker: Their No. 5 man had a lower score than Oregon State’s.

It was the third time Tennessee won this tournament in its 12-year history.

“We just love this tournament and everything about it,” Tennessee coach Jim Kelson said. “We almost feel like we’re playing at home. We’ve been here a lot. We know the golf course and it’s an easy trip for us. It’s a special tournament.”

None of the teams other than Duke (five under par) could overcome blustery conditions at The Ridges. The co-leaders both shot six-over-par 294, the second highest final-round score ever to win this event.

“It was a tough day,” Kelson said. “The course played very tough. Everybody just kind of battled. It came down to the last couple holes and we played pretty solid coming in.”

Tennessee and Oregon State entered the final round tied at nine under par and began going backward. By the time the final groups were nearing the end of the round, it was apparent the finish was going to be close. At one point, the scoreboard said Oregon State, Tennessee and Virginia were in a three-way tie for the lead.

With two groups left and Oregon State up by one, Tennessee’s Darren Renwick rolled in a long birdie putt.

“Let’s go!” he shouted as the ball found the cup.

That left the fate of both teams to the final group. Velasquez’s approach was about 25 feet left of the hole, while Tennessee’s David Holmes put his ball 15 feet away.

Velasquez came excruciatingly close to making his bomb but had to settle for a par. Holmes also missed a minute later, but he was putting with the knowledge that his team had the tiebreaker in its favor because Tennessee’s Justin Walker posted a 77 while Oregon State’s Mike Barry, who shot 67 in the second round, had a 78.

“We feel fortunate to walk away with a tie, but we’d rather have the win,” Oregon State coach Brian Watts said. “But we’ll take it.”

Virginia finished third at one under par.

Host school East Tennessee State finished sixth, 13 shots behind the co-leaders. Rhys Enoch finished in a tie for fifth after his second consecutive 71 left him two under par for the tournament.

Also for the Bucs, Seamus Power shot 72, Paul O’Kane had a 74 and Devon Komline shot 76. For the third day in a row, ETSU threw out Michael Stewart’s score (78).

“We got off to a pretty good start today,” ETSU coach Fred Warren said. “We just couldn’t keep the momentum going. Rhys had a good tournament. I’m proud of him.”

The Bucs have one more tournament in the fall, next weekend at Iselworth, near Orlando, Fla.

“This was our fourth lineup we’ve played all year, so we’re still searching,” Warren said. “Who knows? We may have another one down there.”

Velasquez didn’t need to do any searching. The senior from Columbia began to pull away with an opening 66 and he never let up.

“Today I knew all I had to do was make pars, not be too aggressive and people would have to catch me,” he said.

That plan worked fine until the par-five eighth hole, when Velasquez was facing a 242-yard shot over water.

So much for not being aggressive. He belted a 3-wood within 10 feet of the hole and made the eagle putt. A birdie on the 11th got him to 11 under, one stroke off the tournament record, but he made a bogey coming in.

Velasquez broke the tournament record for margin of victory set last year by N.C. State’s Darren Blair, who won by five. Still, he would have liked one more birdie to help the team win the outright title.

“I’m sure we all had chances,” he said. “But I had some very good chances. On 16, I knocked it really close and couldn’t convert, and on 17 I knocked it close and didn’t make it.”

Tennessee freshman Jay Vandeventer, a Bristol native, shot 74 in the final round. His score counted the final two days for the Vols.