Provo, Utah - Wrapping up the 2014-15 regular season, the Pacific golf team took a step towards an at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals as the Tigers finished second at the PING Cougar Classic in Provo. Overall, Pacific finished the tournament as one of three teams under-par after shooting a three-under, 861 for the two-day tournament. The Tigers beat the host Cougars of BYU by a shot, but came up short trying of Colorado State as the Rams secured the tournament victory with a three-round total of 853.
"We went to Utah looking to have a good week and that is exactly what we did," said head coach Chris Hill. "Our veterans really stepped up when we needed some great individual performances. I am very proud of all of the guys, especially SJ and the way he came through today. Now we have to just wait and see if we earned a bid to the regionals."
Individually, senior Drew Bender came up with the top showing for Pacific as the fourth-year Tiger put the finishing touches on his fine career with a third-place finish at Riverside Country Club. The finish for Bender marked his best showing of the season as he just missed out on a share of the individual title by one shot after going four-under for the classic. Utah State's Seokwon Jeon and BYU's Jordan Rodgers tied at -5 after 54-holes forcing a playoff in which Rodgers took the overall win from Jeon.
The Tigers' best showing of the day came from SeungJae Maeng as the junior matched his opening round score with a second -3, 69 in round three. With his three-under, Maeng pushed his way up the leaderboard and into the top-10 as the junior tied for eighth overall at -3 for the tournament. Senior Byron Meth finished right behind Maeng at two-under after carding an even-par, 72, on the final day of play to complete the classic in a tied for 10th.
"This was a good season for us and we had a great spring," stated Hill. "The guys put their best foot forward and that is really all you can ask. I could not be happier for Drew and Byron as they call their Pacific careers to a close in the regular season. They both have been everything you can ask for out of a true Tiger."
Pacific will now sit back and wait to see if its resume is worthy of an NCAA Regional bid while senior Byron Meth's regional ranking likely earned him a spot as an individual if the Tigers do not make it as a team.
