Today was the final round of the NCAA Division I Championship at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The Gophers started the day in a tie for 8th place after a rough third round that saw them drop 19 shots to leader Stanford.

The team played a little better today, led by Swedish sophomore Victor Almstrom, who had 4 birdies on his way to a 66. Senior Bronson LaCassie also got back on track, shooting an even-par 70.

Their 278-276-294-285-1133 (+13) team total tied them for ninth place with Florida, 24 shots behind 2007 champion Stanford.

Here are the final individual scores:

• T15, Victor Almstrom, 73-68-71-66-278 (-2)
• T22, Bronson LaCassie, 67-65-79-70-281 (+1)
• T42, Niall Turner, 71-71-70-74-286 (+6)
• T64, Ben Pisani, 68-72-78-74-292 (+12)
• T74, Clayton Rask, 72-73-75-76-296 (+16)

Today I ran my fourth Heart of the City Half Marathon in Burnsville, benefiting the Tender Hearts Foundation. I like this event a lot and it keeps getting better with age. Apparently I do too, as I set a new PR today: 2:18:50 (my other results are on the running fetish page).

After all of my bitching about banning headphones, here was a race I could use them in and decided not to. I’ve decided that I really like to run without any crap in my hands, stuff hanging off a belt or cords flopping around my head. If someone comes out with wireless ear buds that work for more than an hour and don’t cost a fortune, I’ll be all over it. Today was nice, though.

I also decided to stop worrying about Nike+iPod. The shoes that have that give me blisters (none today with a different pair) and the mileage was off anyway. In my old age, I don’t really care much any more about pace, total miles trained, etc. All that counts is the total on the clock at the end. Today’s numbers made me very, very happy.

As Tad Reeve of the Pioneer Press first reported, St. Paul golfer Bill Schaaf had quite an experience last month. On Wednesday, May 9, the three handicap golfer had his first ever hole-in-one at Oak Marsh Golf Club in Oakdale during league play. His 8-iron shot on the 149 yard fifteenth hole sailed into the sun and into the hole.

The next morning, he went to another Wendell Pittenger course, St. Croix National Golf Club in Somerset, Wisconsin. The first tee was backed up, so his group teed off on the back nine first. When they got to the 141 yard fifteenth, lightning struck again as his PW shot went in for his second ace in ten hours. This time there was no sun glare and he saw the whole thing from the elevated tee.

Bill figures the odds at about nine million to one. The bar tabs were substantial, but he says he’s not looking forward for his cell phone bill to arrive, as it’s been ringing ever since. Not one to push his luck, he took a break from golf on Friday.