COLUMBUS – The Ohio State Buckeyes golf team finished strong.

Tuesday, October 09, 2001

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State Buckeyes golf team finished strong. Justin Collins did the same.

The strong finish by Collins, a sophomore from Ironton, may have been the key reason the Buckeyes placed fourth in the 13th annual Ping/Golfweek Preview at the Ohio State Scarlet Course the weekend of Sept. 28-30.

Clemson won the event with an 862 score for the three rounds. Wake Forest was second at 863, Texas had an 864, and Ohio State was next in the 15-team field with an 867 team total.

Ohio State’s Doug Wade tied for second overall with a 211 score including a final round of 67.

Collins shot a 75 the first day, then bounced back with a 2-under par 69 on Saturday and finished up with a 70 on Sunday to give him a 1-over 214 score for the tournament.

The excellent final two rounds of play enabled Collins to finish individually in a tie for ninth place among 64 golfers.

"It was a really good start four our team this year," Ohio State coach Jim Brown said. "That was a great finish four us after the start we had in the opening round. I was proud of the guys and the way they fought back. We faced some great competition from some of the best teams in the country."

The Ping/Golfweek Preview is held annual each fall at the site of the following spring’s NCAA Division I Championship. It boasts one of the strongest fields in college golf outside the NCAA.

The tournament featured 14 of the top 25 ranked teams. Only Ohio State was unranked and the Buckeyes overcame a dismal first round of 16-over 300 to shot rounds of 285 and 282.