September 30, 2008
GRIFFIN, RAMS PUT ON A SHOW WITH SECOND-PLACE SHOWING AT VCU SHOOTOUT
Griffin makes late charge to finish just one shot off the lead
Full Results
MANAKIN-SABOT, Va. – A huge charge came up just short for Virginia Commonwealth University junior Lanto Griffin in the VCU Shootout. Griffin left Hermitage Country Club a tad disappointed but upbeat and energized as well.
Griffin and the Rams tied for second with Augusta State in the 54-hole affair with 11-under-par team totals of 841. Wake Forest ran away with the team trophy with a 27-under-par total.
In the individual category, Griffin shot a two-under 69 Tuesday and was one of three golfers to finish at 11-under-par, a stroke behind co-champions Brendan Gielow of Wake Forest and Dustin Garza of Wichita State. Dustin Groves of Wake Forest and Henrik Norlander of Augusta State were also at 11-under-par.
Wake, VCU and Augusta State were the only teams to finish under par on Tuesday. The Rams, like Griffin, made a late charge to finish ahead of fourth-place Virginia (-6), fifth-place Wichita State (-3) and sixth-place Virginia Tech (-2). Virginia and Virginia Tech started the day tied for second.
VCU’s Rafael Campos (left) and Mark Jargren finished tied for 14th at 1-under-par. Campos’ 68 yesterday was his best round of the tournament and the team’s best score of the day. He moved up 22 places in the individual standings yesterday. VCU’s Vincent Nadeau finished in a tie for 27th at 2-over-par.
The day started wet and VCU started cold.
“I didn’t know how things were going to shake out for a while,” VCU coach Matt Ball said. “We made a double and several bogeys right off the bat.
“The guys are learning to believe in themselves. We talk about fighting and they fought back. We kept hanging around and hanging around. All of a sudden, we jumped from 5- to 10-under on holes 4, 5 and 6. Vincent made two birdies, Lanto made a birdie and an eagle. All of a sudden we were in the game.”
Said Griffin, “It was a big day team wise. If the team didn’t come out tied for second, I’d be much more disappointed. Coming back and beating Tech and U.Va., that was very cool.”
Griffin now has a runner-up finish, a tie for third and a fifth-place finish in three tournaments this season. He got off to a slow start yesterday and was 2-over through his first nine holes. He then made up five strokes over the next eight holes, including an eagle on the fifth hole, to move into a tie for the lead.
A bogey on the 10th, his final hole in the shotgun-start format, dropped him back. Griffin’s second shot landed just off the fringe and picked up some mud that was on the spot where his putter needed to make contact. He was unable to clean the ball from where it lay.
“I just got off to a tough start,” Griffin said. “Then I hit No. 2 (his 10th hole of the day) in two, blew it by eight feet and made that coming back for birdie. That kind of jump started me. The putter warmed up.
“I’m proud of the way I came back. My goal at the start of the year was to get a win and this was a very good opportunity. It is disappointing but at the same time it was a good tournament.”
Ball knows it is a tournament that will serve Griffin well in the future.
“He put on a remarkable charge. That’s the kind of thing you look for in a champion,” Ball said. “He didn’t win but he played like a champion. He was great down the stretch. It was just an awful break that he had a huge clump of mud on the golf ball, just in the rough where he couldn’t touch it. It’s so unfortunate because he had a legitimate chance to make that to win.
“I’m so proud of him for the way he handled things, for the way he was releasing the club. He wasn’t steering it, he wasn’t guiding it. He was being aggressive, he was being smart. He was making good swings, great putts. And the pins were tough. I know. I set them.
“You know you want to win. I think just as important is to know what’s happening inside and to know you can handle it. He was handling it fine. He did his part. He knows now in his heart of hears that if he’s in this position, he can do it. That’s where you want to get.”
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