Oct. 14, 2008

The Prestige at PGA WEST (Final Results) in PDF Format

The Prestige at PGA WEST (Final Results)

The Prestige at PGA WEST (tournament website)

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Senior Nate Pistacchio claimed UC Davis' third medalist honor in five tournaments this fall when he tied for first with a 6-under 210 at The Prestige at PGA WEST at the Greg Norman Golf Course, leading the Aggie men's golf team to an impressive runner-up finish at the high-powered tournament.

No. 49 TCU, which had the co-medalist in Johan de Beer, finished the 54-hole tournament at the 7,156-yard course at 3-under 861. The Horned Frogs beat No. 40 UC Davis by 10 shots and third-place Stanford by 18. The tournament featured 10 of the top 50 ranked teams by Golfweek.

The tournament is co-hosted annually by UC Davis and Stanford and brings together some of the top academic and golf-playing institutions to a world-class golf course. Ten of the 16 teams that competed in the tournament are currently ranked among the top 50, including No. 4 Washington, No. 12 Stanford, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 21 California, No. 28 Michigan and No. 30 Colorado.

Pistacchio, who had a closing 1-under 71, won his first career collegiate event and is the Aggies' third winner this fall, joining Austin Graham and Ramie Sprinkling who last month captured the Kansas Invitational and Wolverine Intercollegiate tournaments, respectively. Pistacchio's previous best was a tie for second at the 2007 Wyoming Cowboy Classic.

He is the Aggies' second medalist in the tournament's nine events, joining Erik Hill who captured top honors in 2004. UC Davis finished second that year, its previous best showing.

Graham, meanwhile, followed his school-record 9-under 63 in Monday's second round with another oustanding effort on Tuesday by carding six birdies on his way to a final-round 68 and a tie for fifth. The Aggie sophomore opened the tournament with an 86 before shooting up the leaderboard with 15 birdies over his final 36 holes.

Senior Ramie Sprinkling had his best round of the event with a par-72, hitting four birdies and tying for 23rd at 8-over. Freshman Tyler Raber tied for 27th at 10-over after a steady round in which he had 13 pars. Brent Booth, who started his final round with two birdies over his first three holes, tied for 38th at 13-over with his 74 on Tuesday. Gregg Button, playing as an individual, had eight pars on his final nine holes and tied for 76th after a 78.

Pistacchio opened his tournament on Monday with a 68 that was more impressive due to windy conditions which wreaked havoc on play. He had a 71 in the afternoon before shooting three birdies on Tuesday to score another 71. The victory was his fifth top-10 career finish.

de Beer had a 68 in Monday morning's first round before going 6-under over the last two, including a 68 on Tuesday. He was 1 under at the turn in his final round and carded three birdies on the back to help him tie Pistacchio. David Johnson of Central Florida took third at 5-under while Andrew Putnam of Pepperdine had a 70 to finish in fourth at 1-under.

UC Davis returns to action at the Pacific Invitational on Nov. 3-4.

THE PRESTIGE AT PGA WEST
La Quinta, Calif. (hosted by UC Davis & Stanford)
Greg Norman Course
Par 72, 7,156 yards
Final

TEAMS
1. TCU, 294-289-278-861
2. UC Davis 306-280-285-871
3. Stanford, 297-292-290-879
4. Central Florida, 303-295-284-882
5. Washington, 310-303-276-889
6. Pepperdine, 300-298-298-896
7. California, 312-293-292-897
T8. Northwestern, 308-298-294-900
T8. Michigan State, 327-290-283-900
10. Notre Dame, 307-301-293-901
11. Colorado, 306-303-296-905
12. Michigan, 310-292-306-908
13. Kentucky, 310-310-291-910
14. Florida Southern, 302-315-295-912
15. Pacific, 317-305-299-921
16. Rice, 322-302-302-926

INDIVIDUALS
T1. Nate Pistacchio, UC Davis, 68-71-71-210
T1. Johan de Beer, TCU, 72-70-68-210

UC DAVIS
T5. Austin Graham, 86-63-68-217
T23. Ramie Sprinkling, 78-74-72-224
T27. Tyler Raber, 78-73-75-226
T38. Brent Booth, 82-73-74-229
T76. Gregg Button (individual), 77-81-78-236