Kirk Dominates Final Round To Take Title At The
Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic
Kirk, a senior from Georgia, carded rounds of 65, 66 and 64 to set a new 54-hole tournament record of 195 and take medalist honors at the 32nd Annual Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic on Tuesday at the El Paso Country Club.
Kirk, who becomes the first Georgia Bulldog to win the Golf Classic, eclipsed the scoring mark set by Arizona’s Ricky Barnes (196) in 2000 and later tied by Arizona’s Chris Nallen in 2003. He also tied the tournament record for the best closing 36-hole performance in tournament history. His 130 total tied the mark set by UNLV’s Jeremy Anderson in 1998 and later tied by Nallen in 2003. Kirk also closed with a 130 last season to finish second to eventual champion Luke List of Vanderbilt.
List began the day as the leader after two rounds. He had extended his lead to three strokes at 15-under par to start the day on Tuesday, but four bogeys and a double bogey prior to the turn gave Kirk the window he needed.
Florida’s Billy Horschel finished second at 13-under and List was third at 11-under par. But neither could contend with Kirk, who made the turn at one-under for the day. Kirk then carded three birdies and an eagle over the next five holes and took control of the lead for good.
In all, the Southeastern Conference was represented by five of the top seven finishers in the tournament, including the top four spots. Georgia senior Brendon Todd finished tied for fourth and Kentucky’s Andy Winings closed out the tournament tied for seventh.
Despite watching both List and Horschel card rounds of 62 on Monday, Kirk closed with steady rounds in the mid-60s. Last year, he fell one stroke short of winning after firing rounds of 71, 63 and 67 for a 201. He now has a six round scoring average of 66.0 in two trips to El Paso.
In the final round, 21 players carded an even par or better on Monday. In all, the field set a new tournament scoring record, as the 28 golfers recorded an average round of 69.89, bettering the mark of 69.92 set in 2003.
The tournament, hosted by the Sun Bowl Association, is played at the Par-71, 6,837-yard El Paso Country Club.
Each university is awarded a $1,000 scholarship if a golfer from that school competes in the tournament.
| Pl. | Player | School | 1-2-3—Total | Par |
| 1 | Chris Kirk | Georgia | 65-66-64—195 | -18 |
| 2 | Billy Horschel | Florida | 71-62-67—200 | -13 |
| 3 | Luke List | Vanderbilt | 62-68-72—202 | -11 |
| T4 | Rhys Davies | East Tennessee State | 68-69-68—205 | -8 |
| Brendon Todd | Georgia | 69-68-68—205 | -8 | |
| 6 | Jarred Texter | UNLV | 68-70-68—206 | -7 |
| T7 | Jamie Amoretti | St. Mary's (Texas) | 70-68-69—207 | -6 |
| Pablo Martin | Oklahoma State | 69-69-69—207 | -6 | |
| Dusty Smith | Lamar University | 72-69-66—207 | -6 | |
| Niall Turner | Minnesota | 71-69-67—207 | -6 | |
| Martin Ureta | North Carolina | 69-69-69—207 | -6 | |
| Andy Winings | Kentucky | 71-68-68—207 | -6 | |
| T13 | Russell Knox | Jacksonville | 71-66-71—208 | -5 |
| Daniel Summerhays | Brigham Young | 70-70-68—208 | -5 | |
| 15 | Mark Haastrup | Georgia State | 69-71-70—210 | -3 |
| 16 | Dawie Van Der Walt | Lamar University | 69-69-73—211 | -2 |
| T17 | Kevin Larsen | Georgia Tech | 72-69-71—212 | -1 |
| Jonathan Moore | Oklahoma State | 65-78-69—212 | -1 | |
| T19 | Travis Esway | Arizona | 74-71-68—213 | E |
| Erik Flores | UCLA | 68-71-74—213 | E | |
| Brian Locke | Loyola Marymount | 71-68-74—213 | E | |
| 22 | Cameron Tringale | Georgia Tech | 77-67-70—214 | 1 |
| T23 | Jake Ellison | Brigham Young | 71-72-72—215 | 2 |
| Dustin Johnson | Coastal Carolina | 75-67-73—215 | 2 | |
| 25 | Scott Stallings | Tennessee Tech | 73-69-74—216 | 3 |
| T26 | Daniel Im | UCLA | 71-76-70—217 | 4 |
| T26 | Alex Prugh | Washington | 70-76-71—217 | 4 |
| 28 | Zach Bixler | Washington | 77-75-70—222 | 9 |