Seven Up Seven Out

In a week of exciting college golf action in the state of Georgia, the number seven took on a very different meaning for some of those involved.

Lets start in Athens, where the winning streak of the Blue Devils from Duke came to a halt at seven. Short handed and facing the challenge of competing with just four players, Dan Brooks team minus its best two, who were at the Kraft Nabisco, fell to the host Georgia Bulldogs.

It was a disappointing close to what has been an absolute domination of the college game, the likes of which we have not seen before.

Questions will arise about the commitment of Liz Janangelo and Virada Nirapathpongporn to their teammates. The debate could go on for hours. Simply stated these were two young women who had the opportunity of a lifetime to play with their idols on the LPGA Tour. If they had opted to decline the invitation, we would be talking about the streak now reaching eight straight victories. So its time to realize whats done is done.

A little side note, expect a new streak to start this weekend in North Carolina, as Duke will have their full compliment of players just outside of Greensboro.

Down the road in Stockbridge, the Florida Gators picked up win No. 7 at the Atlanta Intercollegiate, and did so in resounding fashion. The seventh win of the year for Buddy Alexanders troops has cemented their position as the nations best team by far.

This is the most explosive group in the country, who can take apart any golf course they step foot on.

It is a blend of young talent, balanced with the best to ever play at Florida, which makes this team so dangerous. Senior Camilo Villegas picked up medalist honors for the second time this year, and with it moves to the top of the all time list at UF. Villegas now has eight victories, passing Gator alum Chris DiMarco who had seven.

So the two best teams in the country, the Duke women and Florida men, now have seven team victories apiece to their credit. It will be interesting to see by years end who will end up with more wins.

One thing is for certain, both groups would trade them all in for a national championship, but I suspect these two might not have to trade in anything at all and still walk away with the hardware at the years final event.

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