ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Dustin Korte couldn't have ended his college golf career any better.
On hole No. 17 at the NCAA Golf Championships, Korte sank a 30-foot birdie putt. Then on No. 18 at the Crabapple Golf Club, Korte dropped an eight-iron within two feet of the cup, tapping in for another birdie.
However, the senior from Metropolis, Ill., finished with a second-straight 2-over 72, totaling a 9-over 219 during the three-day stroke competition. Despite the strong finish, Korte left the tournament less than satisfied.
“It does make me feel good that I birdied the last two holes, the last two holes of my college career at nationals,” Korte said. “Somewhere it will sink in that I played in the national championship. That is great.
“I am disappointed in the way I played this week, I know I am better than that. I thought today I could go out there and post a score under par but I just didn't get it done.
“Knowing that I was the first person in a long time (1987) that had been here from Austin Peay, maybe that is why I am disappointed…that maybe I didn't play well for my family, that I didn't represent the school or the OVC as well as I could. I know I finished in the 100s (t116th) and I know I could have done better.”
APSU head coach Kirk Kayden was having none of that.
“This was just icing on the cake for him to be here,” Kayden said. “What a way for him to finish. He makes a 30 footer on 17 and then on the last hole, he sticks in there within three feet to make birdie.
“It gives you a good feeling on the drive home with a finish like that. He had 72s in the last two rounds and that's pretty solid golf on a very difficult course.
“I told him last night you start the year with approximately 2800 Division I college golfers and your are one of the top 156 playing in the national championship. That's pretty special.”
It took Korte until the final two tournament holes to record consecutive birdies. He had only six birdies in three days and could not build any momentum. On Wednesday, he dropped in a birdie putt on No. 10 and then had to wait 10 minutes at the No. 11 tee box as the group ahead of him was searching for a lost ball.
On Thursday, he rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 2, only to arrive at the par-3 No. 3 tee box to find golfers from California, Georgia Tech and Texas had not even teed off.
Early on Korte struggled off the tee, resulting in a bogey on No. 6. After a birdie putt lipped out on No. 7, his tee shot on No. 8 resulted also went astray, resulting in a second bogey and putting him 1-over at the turn.
He had pars on Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13 before three consecutive bogeys—his iron played deserted him some on those three holes—put Korte at 4-over heading into the final two holes. But the senior did what he has been known to do all his career. He put those missteps behind and found a way to finish strong.
“This was just an unbelievable course in just excellent condition,” Korte said. “There were hundreds of people working here for the tournament and everyone was just really nice.
“The thing I can really take from this was you just have to stay patient and I didn't do that. I got frustrated. When you shoot over par for two days and then you try to shoot something real low, putting numbers in your head is not good, especially on a course like this. You just have to come out and play and hope something good happens.”
Korte can take pride he was the leader of a program that struggled when he was a freshman and then built momentum the following three seasons, resulting in a record-breaking season that saw the Govs capture six team titles, including the OVC championship, and finish seventh at the Tempe Regional.
“Dustin just had a terrific career and wonderful final two years,” Kayden said. “He had a lot of intangibles—he is a leader of this team. The younger guys look up to him. He has done a lot of things off the golf course. We certainly are going miss that and what he did on the golf course, which was something special.”
-AP-
