University of North Florida Athletics - Dale Rises to No. 1, Golf Team up to 15

Dale Rises to No. 1, Golf Team up to 15

9/25/2009 3:12:54 PM

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The news for the University of North Florida golf team continues to get better.

The Ospreys opened the season ranked 19th nationally and sophomore Sean Dale second in the initial Golfweek/Sagarin rankings released earlier this week. The rankings were updated on Thursday and Dale has now risen to the No. 1 spot in the country and the team up to No. 15.

Jeff Sagarin’s rating system that is utilized by Golfweek is based on a mathematical formula that uses a player’s won-lost-tied record against other players when they play on the same course on the same day, and the stroke differential between those players, then links all players to one another based on common opponents. The ratings give an indication of who is playing well over the past 52 weeks.

"It is a real honor for the program to have the No. 1 ranked player in the country," said UNF head golf coach Scott Schroeder. "Being ranked 15th is also a nice jump from the last ranking but we can not get overconfident in those numbers. All we can do is keep working hard and the numbers will take care of themselves."

Dale shattered the tournament record and captured top honors, and the Ospreys finished second in UNF’s first tournament of the year, the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in Zionsville, Ind., on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 12-13.

Dale has a 65.45 rating, just ahead of Oklahoma State's Trent Whitekiller at 65.91. The only other UNF individual in the top 150 is freshman Kevin Phelan who debuted at 127 but is now up to 122nd with a 70.30 rating. Phelan finished tied for 10th at Wolf Run. As a team, the Ospreys have a 69.73 rating. Tennessee tops the country with a 67.85 rating.

The Ospreys finished second overall in the 17-team tournament, hosted by the University of Indiana, at the par-71, 7,195-yard Wolf Run Golf Club. UNF shot a three-round 860, 13 strokes behind Illinois, who is ranked No. 7, and 11 strokes ahead of host Indiana.

Dale out-dueled Illinois’ Scott Langley by one stroke for the tournament title, shooting an 11-under 202 (66-69-67) for the title. Dales’ 202 was a tournament record, besting the previous best by eight strokes (3-under, 210).

The next tournament for the Ospreys is the Gary Koch Intercollegiate, Oct. 3-4, in Tampa, Fla. The event, hosted by Kentucky and Auburn, is at the Old Memorial Golf Club.