Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate Entering the final round of the 2010 Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate in fifth place - 11 strokes behind tournament host New Mexico State for the lead - the Kansas men’s golf team made a furious comeback to pass four teams on the leaderboard and claim its first tournament title in four years. Sophomores Chris Gilbert and Alex Gutesha had career-best rounds of 65 and 68, respectively, while senior Nate Barbee added a 66 to lead Kansas to a team total of 273 (-11) on the final day to edge UNLV by one stroke with a three-round score of 858 (+6). Barbee, Gilbert and Gutesha all finished in the top 10 individually, led by Gutesha’s 210 (-3), which was the lowest tournament total of any Jayhawk for the entire season and earned him a tie for third place. Gilbert tied for seventh place with a three-round total of 213 (E), while Barbee tied for 10th (214, +1) after registering three eagles in the final 18 holes, which was more than any other team combined.
“It was pretty amazing how Chris, Alex and Nate played,” said Kansas head coach Kit Grove following the tournament. “We were 14-under among the three of them. That’s pretty good no matter how you look at it. It was great to watch the guys play so well. Chris went out and played mistake-free golf. Alex was on a roll and was pretty much in cruise control after the second hole. Nate had a great round shooting three eagles. Golf is a strange game and you never know where you’re at, but when I saw we were at 11-under for the day, I started to think we had a shot at winning. Of course, you don’t know for sure until all the scores are in.” Kansas passed four teams on the leaderboard as part of its comeback to win its first team trophy since the 2007 All-American Golf Classic in Houston, Texas. “We were far enough back that I don’t know that you think about winning,” recalled Grove later. “When you’re 10 to 12 shots back, that’s a lot to make up, especially when one of the teams is the host team, but we went out and had three guys play really well. Chris, Alex and Nate all shot 68 or better. Doug (Quinones) chipped in with a 74, and it was enough to end up nipping UNLV by one stroke. That was definitely cool for the guys.”
2011-12 Men’s Golf Guide
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