June 2, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB sophomore Zach Sucher finished his impressive run at the 2007 NCAA Men's Golf Championships, closing play tied for fourth with a five-under par 275 (68-67-70-70). Sucher's finish, which earned him Honorable Mention All-America accolades, matched Graeme McDowell's 2002 NCAA result as the best-ever finish at an NCAA event in program history. Additionally, his 275 set a 72-hole school record low mark.

Sucher becomes just the fourth UAB men's golfer in program history to earn All-American accolades, nabbing a spot as an Honorable Mention All-American. Sucher joins McDowell (First Team in 2002, Second Team in 2001), Garrett Osborn (Third Team in 2006) and Paul Dickinson (Honorable Mention in 1997 and 1998). Meanwhile, his four-day 275 bettered the previous mark of 279 by four strokes, set by McDowell during his fourth-place NCAA finish in 2002.

"I am very happy with my performance," Sucher said. "I would have liked to win the event, but I am happy with fourth place in a prestigious event like this. It is a great feeling to follow in the footsteps of someone like Graeme McDowell. I think that is only going to give me confidence for the next two seasons at UAB."

Similar to Sucher, UAB head coach Alan Kaufman was equally impressed with the sophomore's play throughout the four-day, 72-hole event.

"It is quite an honor to be named All-American and finish among the top five at the NCAAs," Kaufman said. "Zach not only played against the top golfers in the nation, but held his own and beat a majority of them. I am so pleased with his performance and his attitude throughout the week. I think it shows a glimpse of the type of golfer he can become at UAB."

Sucher finished in a four-way tie for fourth place with BYU's Daniel Summerhays, Alabama's Michael Thomson and Georgia Tech's Chesson Hadley. Southern California's Jamie Lovemark carded a six-under 64 during the final round to earn medalist honors at nine-under par 271. Clemson's Kyle Stanley finished second with a 273, while Stanford's Rob Grube was in third at 274.

Sucher began at the No. 1 tee during Saturday's final 18 holes. After bogeying the first hole, he would record birdies on the third, fifth and seventh holes to finish the front nine at two-under par. However, the back nine would again haunt the Mobile, Ala. native, as he bogeyed three of his first six holes to drop to one-over on the day. A birdie on the par three 16th hole brought him back to even par for the day.

Sucher recorded an impressive 14 birdies and two eagles on the difficult par 70, 6,817-yard Golden Horseshoe Golf Club course. Despite recording four birdies on Friday's round, Sucher felt as if he could have done better.

"I didn't hit the ball nearly as well as the previous three days," Sucher said. "I scrambled around to make par or bogey on nearly every hole. I putted great (11 putts on the back nine), but just wasn't striking the ball as well as I had been.

"I think this tournament gave me confidence in myself," Sucher continued. "I was able to be somewhere near 70 other collegiate golfers who were ranked higher than me. It just shows me that I can compete against them and that is definitely good for my confidence in the future."