Air Force Academy

March 21, 2009

Results

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - Junior Tom Whitney (La Quinta, Calif.) captured medalist honors to lead the Air Force golf team at the Desert Shootout, hosted by Denver at the par-72, 7,015-yard Palm Valley Golf Course. Whitney posted a school-record mark of 200 to finish first for the second-straight tournament. Meanwhile, the Falcons finished in a tie for seventh-place with a three-round total of 855 (-9).

Whitney fired a 67 in the final round to finish the tournament at 16-under-par. His three-round total of 200 is the lowest in Air Force history, besting the previous mark of 202 that Whitney set at the 2007 Agua Caliente Invitational. The junior has now won medalist honors in two consective tournaments and for the third time in his career. He becomes just the third Falcon in school history to earn medalist honors on three occasions.

Air Force also had a solid performance from senior captain Shaun O'Bryant (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who shot a 69 on Saturday to bring his three-round total to 214 (-2). O'Bryant finished the tournament tied for 27th overall. Next in the individual standings for the Falcons was Andrew Gibson (Sr., San Ramon, Calif.) placed tied for 58th at 221 (+5), while Robert Belz (Fr., San Antonio, Texas) tied for 62nd with a 223.

Sophomore Kyle Bailey (Austin, Texas) and freshman Caleb Leestma (Seabrook, Texas), competing as an individual, tied for 68th overall with a score of 224. Also competing individually was Travis Deckert (Fr., Wichita, Kan.), who finished tied for 89th at 239.

Host Denver won the team title, registering a three-round score of 829 (-35) to edge out second-place Tulsa by a single stroke.

Final Results
T7 Air Force 278-290-287 855
1 Tom Whitney 64-69-67 200
T27 Shaun O'Bryant 71-74-69 214
T58 Andrew Gibson 72-74-75 221
T62 Robert Belz 71-76-76 223
T68 Kyle Bailey 72-73-79 224

T68 Caleb Leestma 76-75-73 224
T89 Travis Deckert 80-76-83 239

Final Results in PDF Format