Wildcats finish 2nd at regional
Goetthals wins individual title to lead ACU
FLORENCE, Ala. -- Pierre Goethals fired a second-round 74 Wednesday to win the individual medalist title and lead ACU to a second-place finish at the NCAA Division II South Central Region golf tournament at Turtle Point Country Club.
The Wildcats shot rounds of 306 and 302 to finish seven strokes behind Central Oklahoma, which shot rounds of 302 and 299 to win the title with a score of 601. The tournament was shortened to two rounds after heavy rains in the Florence area on Tuesday. The rain and standing water made the Turtle Point course play much longer than its 7,035 yards.
Goethals managed the course better than any other player, though, firing rounds of 1-over-par 73 and 2-over-par 74 to finish with a two-round total of 3-over-par 147, two strokes ahead of Central Oklahoma's Chris Starke and St. Mary's Luke Antonelli, each of whom shot 149 over two rounds.
UCO earned the automatic bid to the national tournament, meaning ACU will have to wait until Friday to learn if it has earned one of eight at-large bids to the national tournament, which will be played in two weeks in Sunriver, Ore.
ACU's Gary Pike and Todd Mack finished tied for ninth after each shot 76s on both days to finish at 152. David VanRycke finished at 157, while Brian O'Leary finished at 163.
