Razorbacks break top 10

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.-The 2008 fall season for the University of Arkansas men’s golf season has come to a close, but the accolades continue to follow the Razorbacks into the off-season. The fourth and final Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Coaches’ Poll of the fall season was released on Nov. 12, ranking Arkansas in the top 10, at No. 9, receiving 335 points.

The Razorbacks have had an exciting season with five tournament appearances with wins at the Maryland Collegiate Invitational and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic. Individually speaking, the team has posted eight top 10 finishes. In the previous poll the Razorbacks were ranked No. 14.

“It is such an honor to be placed in the Top 10 in the Coaches’ poll. I think it really shows the improvement of the team and gives credence to the work that we have done. It is a program that we continue to build and we are starting to see some of the results. We are in good company,” head coach Brad McMakin said of his team’s ranking.

Georgia is the new top ranked team in the poll, earning 23 of the 24 first-place votes, with 599 points. The Bulldogs closed the fall with wins at the Brickyard Collegiate and the Isleworth/UCF Invitational. They had three top-five finishes in four tournaments this fall, and compiled a 54-8 overall head-to-head record against Division I opponents.

Oklahoma State, formerly number one, slid into the second place position, with a victory at the Ping Preview and a third-place finish at the Olympia Fields/ Fighting Illini Invitational.

Alabama followed in third, having a win and three top-five finishes in four tournaments. Southern California took fourth place, after closing the fall with its 26-stroke victory at the CordeValle Collegiate earlier in the month. USC also took claim to the only other first place vote in the poll.

Also breaking the top 10, in descending order, was: Stanford (455). Illinois (449), Clemson (439).

Indiana with 389 points made the largest jump in the polls to eighth place. The Hoosiers had top-three finishes at the Windon Classic and Isleworth/UCF Invitational to close the fall. Arizona State followed Arkansas for the No. 10 spot with 326 points.

Tennessee scoring 193 points took an eleven-place tumble from their former position at No. 5 to No. 16. Eighteenth ranked Texas fell in the rankings by three places to receive 178 points.

The complete results, including results from Divisions II, III and the NAIA, can be viewed online now at www.golfworld.com. The poll will also appear in the Nov. 28 issue of Golf World.