Gore Leads the Way in Pepperdine’s Title Wave

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Pepperdine, led by Jason Gore, won the NCAA Division I team championship by three strokes over perennial power Wake Forest with a total of 12-over-par 1,148.

Gore’s four-under 280 was complemented by Mike Walton’s three-under 281 in leading Pepperdine to its first NCAA title since 1992, when it won the baseball and men’s volleyball championships.

Pepperdine played without Coach John Geiberger, who spent the week in his hotel battling chickenpox.

The Waves built on their two-stroke lead after 54 holes on the front nine. They led by as many as seven strokes down the stretch.

In the individual competition, Charles Warren of Clemson came from six shots off the pace Saturday to win the men’s golf championship in a playoff.

Warren made a two-putt par on the first extra hole at Conway Farms Golf Club to beat Brad Elder of Texas. Elder hit his second shot on the par-five hole into the water and could only manage a bogey.

Gore, a senior from Valencia, had the individual title in his grasp on the tee of the par-five 18th hole, but double-bogeyed it to fall into a four-way tie for third.

“There are no mixed emotions,” Gore said. “We got a ring. That’s all that matters.”

Warren, the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, had a four-under-par 67 to finish at five-under 279. Elder matched him with a one-over 72.

Warren’s performance helped Clemson to third place in the team competition, five strokes back.

“It means everything,” Warren said. “This is the biggest thrill of my life.”

Warren, a junior from Columbia, S.C., didn’t finish in the top 10 in his first eight tournaments this season, then posted five straight top 10s, including the ACC title. His 67 on Saturday matched his low round of the year, and featured three birdies in the last six holes.

“The last five or six tournaments, it’s been more of a confidence thing than anything,” Warren said.

Northwestern, the team leader the first two days, tied for seventh, 10 shots behind.