Turner enjoys great final season in collegiate golf

Corkman Niall Turner helped his University of Minnesota men’s golf team to a second consecutive national top-10 finish as he closed out his US collegiate career at the weekend.

Turner, playing his last tournament as student golfer, shot a final round 74 in Williamsburg, Virginia, on Saturday as Minnesota secured a tie for ninth at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships.

The five-man Gophers team fired a tournament total 13-over-par 1133 at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club, 24 shots behind championship winners Stanford University, the alma mater of Tiger Woods.

In Oregon last year, Turner finished tied for 10th individually as the Gophers claimed third place but neither Turner nor his team could reach those heights in 2007. Turner tied for 42nd at Golden Horseshoe with a six-over-par total of 286, the third man home for Minnesota.

He enjoyed a great final season in collegiate golf, earning a national high rating of 26th in Golfweek’s collegiate golf rankings and earning selection on his all-conference team after finishing seventh at the Big Ten Championships.

Last week also saw him pick up All-Midwest Region honours alongside team-mate Bronson La’Cassie.

He was his team’s most consistent scorer all season, with a 73.1 stroke average and four top-10 finishes this season. His rounds at Golden Horseshoe also reflect that as he recorded a 71, 71 and 70 before his last-day 74.

He was also the only Irishman to reach the final round of play in Virginia as Gareth Shaw, Seamus Power and Cian McNamara missed the third-round cut when their the East Tennessee State University team finished out of the top 15 places necessary to progress.

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.