May 18, 2016 Round 3 Results (PDF) 
MARANA, Ariz. -- Sean Walsh finished his incredible four-year career as a Gonzaga men's golfer in a tie for 17th with a two-over (74) final round at the NCAA Championships Tucson Regional Wednesday.
Walsh ended the regional at even par with a 216 total. He went one-over on the front-nine and back-nine in the final round on the Gallery Golf Club's North Course. He finished with 13 pars and two birdies in Round 3.
Walsh opened his day with back-to-back pars on holes 10 and 11, before double-bogeying No 12. He closed the back-nine making par on five of the last six holes, with a birdie on 16. He went to one-under for the round with a birdie on Hole 1, but would bogey holes three and six.
Walsh finished the tournament in the top-10 of the 75-golfer field on par-four and par-five holes. He went one-under, with a 3.97 average, on par-four holes, and six-under (4.45) on par-five holes. Walsh ended the event with 31 pars, 10 birdies and an eagle. He finished as the top individual entry in the tournament.
Stanford cruised to the regional team title by 14 strokes. The top-ranked Cardinal had four golfers place in the top-10 led by Franklin Huang's first place finish. Huang took medalist honors at 12-under (204). He edged out his teammate Maverick McNealy by two strokes for the regional title. Stanford went 13-under (275) in the third round to finish at 31-under (833). No. 24 Oregon placed second at 17-under. UAB (-7), California (-2), and Wake Forest (-1) rounded out the advancing teams to the national finals in Eugene, Ore., May 27-June 1.
Matt Lutz of UC Riverside was the highest individual finisher not on one of those five teams, and will advance to the finals in Eugene as well. Lutz went four-under (68) in Round 3 and finished at seven-under (209).
"We just couldn't get it going today to grab the lone spot to nationals," GU Head Coach
Robert Gray said. "Lutz posted a solid round so Sean needed a 67 to tie him for a playoff. The double on the third hole (No. 12) was a tough break after the ball just missed the green to the left and bounced off the hill into the desert brush. Being the last time of the day, we were able see on live scoring what he needed to shoot to catch him so down the stretch we were shooting at every flag to try and make up the ground but just didn't work out."
Walsh became the second golfer in program history to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
James Fahy was the first last season, finishing 62nd at the Bremerton Regional at 10-over-par.
Walsh had the best season in program history in 2015-16. His 71.55 season average is the lowest in program history by nearly two strokes. The lone senior on this season's roster also owns the lowest career average in program history at 73.14.
Walsh was the first golfer in GU history to be named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. He shared that title with Saint Mary's Jonathan De Los Reyes this season. He finished in the top-20 in each of the 11 events he played in this season. He became the first Bulldog in eight years to take medalist honors at a tournament, winning the Saint Mary's Invitational. The Keller, Texas native later won the Wyoming Desert Invitational. He had four top-10 finishes and three top-five finishes this season. Walsh finished at par or better in 20 of the 33 rounds he played this season.
"It was still a great year for him, never finishing outside the top 20 in every event," Gray said. "I can't say how proud I am of him for what he's accomplished, and more importantly, how he's grown as a person during his last four years. It's truly been a privilege for me to be a witness to it. He has an amazing work ethic and has great golf knowledge to take information and process it in a productive way."
Walsh, a Business Administration major, was recently named to the WCC All-Academic Team for the second time in his career. He tied for 14th at this year's conference championship at two-over (218) in the tournament. He finished 10th at last year's championship and was named honorable mention All-WCC. In 2014, he was also honorable mention after an 11th place finish in the WCC Championships. Walsh nearly won the championships in his first season in 2013, placing third and being named the WCC Freshman of the Year.
"We'll definitely miss him next year but he's ready to move to another level and I wish him all the best as he moves into the next chapter in his life," Gray said.
