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May 10, 2006 Lacey, WA --- Moments after their final putt dropped into the cup two rounds into the three-round West Regional, the entire golf team from Grand Canyon University let out a roar of relief, certain they were headed to nationals. As Kurt Kageler, Saint Martin's golf coach, watched the celebration, he called his team together. "I said, 'Look at those guys. That's how you should feel tomorrow,' “Kageler said. And just 24 hours later, it was Saint Martin's high fiving and back slapping, celebrating a most unlikely comeback that moved the Saints from sixth to second and their second straight trip to nationals. On the final round last week at Phoenix's Legacy Golf Resort, Saint Martin's finished with the best round of the tournament -- one stroke back of winner Cal State Bakersfield. "The one thing that helped us is we had nothing to lose," Kageler said. Of course, having Shane Prante, Saint Martin's No. 1 golfer the past three seasons, shooting a 5-under-par 66 for the tournament's best individual round didn't hurt either. Prante was again nothing short of sensational. The Saints four counting scores for the final round were all par or better. Chris Westrum was 3-over-par after six holes and seemed headed for a blowup tournament. But the Saint senior finished 5-under-par the rest of the tournament and placed 12th, closing with a 2-under-par 69. "Wow, you talk about a turnaround," Kageler said. Saint Martin's Jordan Burns, Peter Perkins and Derek Siesser all saved their best for last. Now, those golfing Saints are headed for West Virginia Saturday for nationals Tuesday through May 19. Each Saint faced some devilish challenges. Siesser was sick with sunstroke the first round. Perkins four-putted then parred the remaining three holes, keeping his restraint and rediscovering his game. Prante was nearly flawless, opening with back-to-back 69s and finishing with his 66. Tucked into that superb golf were three out-of-bounds tee shots, one coming each round. "I think they all finally put a round together and played to their potential," Kageler said. Prante is hoping for a better start at nationals. Last year, he shot an opening round 79 and dropped to 90th place. But over the final three rounds, Prante had the lowest score and finished as All-American. "Someone who golfed in Shane's group came up to him afterwards at regionals and thanked him," Kageler said. "He said he really learned a lot from him."
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