12th hole haunts Overton's finish

Entering the final round of the NCAA Championships Friday, IU junior Jeff Overton was tied for eighth place, sitting at 2-under par. Overton was even-par through the first nine holes making birdies on the first and eighth holes and bogies on the sixth and seventh. The first two holes on the back nine went as planned, with Overton shooting par on both. \nNext came the par four, 12th. Overton's first shot hooked right into a group of trees. Being safe, Overton took a provisional (if the ball was lost he would be penalized a stroke and distance). Unfortunately, the provisional landed in roughly the same area as the first shot, so Overton took a second provisional. Overton looked for both of his shots, but couldn't find them in the five-minute time period the United States Golf Association allows. He found his third ball embedded in the rough.\n"We thought his ball was wedged in the ground and that he should be allowed a drop, but a rules official made a judgement call and said that it was imbedded in the leaves and that Jeff would have to play it out of there," IU coach Mike Mayer said.\nOverton accepted the ruling and finished out the hole scoring a 10 and sending him to 4-over-par for the tournament.\n"There are holes in golf where things can go wrong and hurt your score, but you just have to play through them and keep at it," Mayer said.\nOverton did that by making a birdie on the 16th hole and par on the 18th to finish the tournament at 5-over-par and in a tie for 20th place.\n"Jeff showed a lot of heart out there today. I talked to him after the 12th hole and told him to finish the tournament the way he had played all year, and I really felt he did that," Mayer said.\nOverton, the 2004 Big Ten Golfer of the Year, completed one of the most successful individual season's in the IU golf program's history. \nOverton won five individual titles and received the Les Bolstad Award for the lowest stroke average in the Big Ten. He was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week five times and was selected to the U.S. team at the 2004 Fuji Xerox U.S.A. Collegiate Golf Championship that will compete in Japan, July 13 through 16.\nHe set the top two 18-hole (64, 65), top three 36-hole (130, 131, 134) and top two 54-hole (199, 203) scoring records in IU history. \nOver the course of the season, Overton averaged a 70.62, the lowest season-stroke average in the program's history. Overton now has a 72.25 career stroke average, which also stands as the lowest in IU history.\nThe conclusion of the NCAA Championships ends the IU golf season, but coach Mayer already has high expectations for next year. \n"Well, we're returning five of our starters next year, so I'm expecting a lot from them," Mayer said. "I'd love to be at this championship next year with the whole team playing in it"