Army golfers finish 24th at NCAA East Regional - PATRIOT LEAGUE OFFICIAL SITE

May 23, 2005

NASHVILLE, TENN. - Despite shooting a five-over par 76 on the third and final round, junior Austin Luher capped a magnificent tournament Saturday by breaking the Academy record for a 54-hole composite at the NCAA East Regional at The Golf Club of Tennessee.

Army finished two spots higher than their assigned seed after registering an even 300 today to bring their 54-hole score to 904, good for 24th place out of 27 teams. The Black Knights smashed the Academy team record for an NCAA Regional, lowering the previous mark by 14 strokes. The previous standard of 918 was set twice by the 1992 and 1993 Army squads.

Luher was spectacular throughout the tournament and was one stroke shy of tying his career-low for a 54-hole event. His 76 today brought his three-round total to 220, breaking Army's regional record for 54 holes by two strokes. The previous record of 222 was shared by Scott Manley (2004) and Brent Mumford (1991). Luher parred 10 holes and birdied four others in today's round, the most he had tallied on the weekend.

In his final round of competition in the Black, Gold and Gray, senior team captain Scott Manley tallied 10 pars and three birdies to finish his third NCAA Regional tournament tied for 104th place at 227. That mark is the fifth-best effort ever recorded by an Army golfer at the NCAA Regionals.

Freshman Joey Cave recorded his strongest round of the weekend, firing three birdies and collecting 10 pars on his way to a three-over 74. He and senior Pete Phipps tied for 124th place with identical 54-hole composites of 232. The tandem tied the 11th-best three-round score in Academy history at an NCAA Regional tournament. Freshman Patrick Beverly rounded out his first NCAA Regional with a score of 78 to finish at 235. Beverly birdied two holes and racked up eight pars on the afternoon.

Wake Forest won the regional with a -17 835. The other nine teams advancing to the 2005 Championships in Baltimore, Md., are Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Georgia State, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Coastal Carolina, Duke and Georgia Southern.