Men's Golf

Madden First, Huskers Second At Birkdale Classic

Huntersville, N.C.--Senior Josh Madden recorded his second career tournament victory to lead the 14th-ranked Husker men's golf team to a second-place finish at the Birkdale Classic on Sunday.

For the third consecutive tournament this spring, Nebraska finished second. The Huskers, who moved from 16th to 14th in the MasterCard Men's Golf Rankings this week, carded a four-over-par 868 to finish six strokes behind team champion North Carolina (287-286-289--862).

Madden, a native of Gold Coast, Australia, fired a five-under-par 211 on rounds of 71, 67 and 73 to finish two strokes ahead of North Carolina's Max Harris and Kansas' Ryan Vermeer, who shared second-place honors. A 1997 All-Big 12 pick, Madden's other career tournament win was at the Shocker Classic in the spring of 1996.

Madden was one of three Huskers to finish in the top 10, joining senior Scott Gutschewski (Omaha, Neb.) and Jamie Rogers (Maroochydore, Australia), who finished in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Gutschewski finished sixth with a one-over par score of 217 (70-71-76), while Rogers finished in a four-way tie for seventh with a 218 (70-73-75). Lincoln native Steve Friesen added an 18th-place finish with a six over par 222 (75-72-75).

The Huskers return to action next Monday, March 22, when they compete in the Stevinson Ranch Invitational at Turlock, Calif.

Team Scores

1.

#22 North Carolina

287-286-289--862

2.

#14 Nebraska

286-283-299--868

3.

Augusta State

290-289-295--874

4.

Kansas

299-291-296--886

5.

Colorado State

296-295-297--888

6.

Virginia-Commonwealth

293-302-305--900

Maryland

298-302-300--900

8.

Wofford College

296-299-306--901

9.

Old Dominion

293-305-305--903

10.

NC-Charlotte

300-303-305--908

11.

Furman

311-299-307--917

12.

Charleston

300-316-304--920

13.

East Carolina

309-303-311--923

Virginia Tech

301-314-308--923

15.

Davidson College

314-303-316--933

16.

Purdue

310-318-309--937

17.

Rhode Island

318-312-310--940

18.

Missouri

316-312-316--944

Individual Finishers

1.

Josh Madden, Nebraska

71-67-73--211 -5

2.

Max Harris, North Carolina

75-68-70--213 -3

Ryan Vermeer, Kansas

73-72-68--213 -2

4.

Don Hill, North Carolina

69-71-74--214 -2

5.

Robert Duck, Augusta State

73-74-69--216 E

6.

Scott Gutschewski, Nebraska

70-71-76--217 +1

7.

Jamie Rogers, Nebraska

70-73-75--218 +2

Derek Watson, Wofford College

72-74-72--218 +2

Michael Webb, Augusta State

71-72-75--218 +2

Jeff Keck, Augusta State

72-69-77--218 +2

Keith Unikel, Maryland

71-73-74--218 +2

Husker Finishers

18.

Steve Friesen

75-72-75--222 +6

T54.

Ryan Nietfeldt

75-77-82--234 +18