Air Force Academy

Oct. 30, 2009

The Air Force golf team wraps up its fall season at the Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational in Kahuku, Hawaii, Nov. 2-4. The first two rounds will be held at the par-72, 7,218-yard Arnold Palmer Course, while the final round will take place on the par-72, 6,535-yard George Fazio Course.

The 54-hole tournament will be spread out over three days, with one round played each day. Opening tee times will begin at 7:30 each morning. Live results for the tournament will be available at golfstats.com.

Last Time Out...
The Air Force golf team placed 15th at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate Oct. 26-27, compiling a three-round score of 874.

Senior Tom Whitney led the way for the Falcons, tying for 24th overall with a three-round score of 213 (E). Meanwhile, freshman Andrew Hoops was next in the individual standings for the Falcons, tying for 34th place at 215 (+2).

The Field...
The field for this week's tournament includes 11 teams, including two foreign teams. The complete field, with Golfweek/Sagarin rankings in parentheses, follows: Air Force (137), British Columbia [Canada], BYU-Hawaii, Georgia State (120), Hawaii, Illinois (3), Long Beach State (115), New Mexico State (102), Osaka Gakuin [Japan], San Diego State (31) and Santa Clara (89).

In the Rankings...
According to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin ratings (updated Oct. 29), senior Tom Whitney ranks among the top 150 individuals in college golf, coming in at No. 139. Meanwhile, his season stroke average of 70.83 is the best in the Mountain West Conference.

In the Record Books...
With his performance in the first two tournaments of the season, senior Tom Whitney added a pair of entries into the Air Force record books. His score of 210 at the Tucker Invitational currently ranks tied for the 11th-lowest individual tournament score in school history, while his score of 211 at the Falcon Invitational is tied for 17th-lowest.

In addition, following his performance at the Service Academy Golf Classic, Whitney also now posted a top-three finish eight times in his career, the second-most top-three finishes in school history. Ben Leestma, a 2002 graduate, holds the Academy record for most career top-three finishes with nine, including seven individual titles.

Meanwhile, junior Kyle Bailey added an entry to the Academy record books as well with his performance at the SAGC. His three-round total of 211 is tied for 17th-lowest in school history, while he also added the first tournament win of his career and second top-three showing. In addition, sophomore Robert Belz finished in the top three of an event for the first time in his career, placing third at the SAGC with a score of 219.

As a team, Air Force shot 866 at the Falcon Invitational, a mark which ranks as the seventh-lowest team tournament score in school history. In addition, it is the team's second-lowest score ever at the event. The Falcons also fired an 874 at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate, a mark which ranks as the 15th-lowest team tournament score in school history.

Up Next...
The Falcons will open up the spring season Feb. 15-16 at the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational, hosted by UT San Antonio.

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