Monday, April 20
McKinney, Texas
Abilene Christian
vs
Southland Conference Championship
Players Mentioned
Photo by: Jeremy Enlow
Wildcats move up 3 spots on final day to finish fifth
4/22/2015 4:04:00 PM | Men's Golf
Final Results
McKINNEY – The ACU Wildcats were the biggest mover on the final day of the Southland Conference championship golf tournament Wednesday as they moved up three spots to finish alone in fifth place in the tournament at the Stonebridge Ranch Country Club.
The Wildcats shot the third-best round of the day – and their best round of the tournament by seven strokes – on Wednesday to finish at 931 for the tournament. ACU followed up rounds of 312 on Monday and 314 on Tuesday with a 305 on Wednesday to finish just seven strokes out of fourth place (Lamar at 924) and 12 strokes out of third place (Southeastern Louisiana at 919).
Sam Houston State rallied in the final round to edge McNeese State to win its second straight Southland Conference title.
"Overall, this is a very solid performance for this team," said first-year head coach Tom Shaw. "We beat some excellent golf teams in only our second year of Division I. The future is very bright for ACU Golf - we'll only get better over the next few years and hopefully add a Southland Conference title to the trophy case soon."
The Bearkats had four golfers place in the top 12 to claim their second consecutive league title and fourth overall. Sam Houston shot a 5-over par 293 in the final round to win by two strokes over the Cowboys. The Bearkats shot a three-round total of 881 (288-300-293). After concluding the second round Wednesday morning, the Bearkats trailed McNeese by two strokes heading into the final 18 holes; however, Sam Houston outshot McNeese by four to claim the league's automatic berth into one of six NCAA regionals, May 14-16.
On Wednesday, Sam Houston senior J.T. Taylor carded a 1-under par 71 to give him a three-round total of 2-under par (70-72-71–213) to help him lay claim to the individual medalist honors. Taylor, who is the only player to shoot par or better in all three rounds, became the eighth Bearkat to win medalist honors.
ACU's top finisher was Clarke Hudgins, who finished 11th in the individual standings at 9-over-par 225 after firings rounds of 74-74-76, while Dillon Vaughn finished tied for 14th at 11-over-par 227 with rounds of 77-78-72. ACU senior Corbin Renner – playing his final tournament as a Wildcat – had another tough day Wednesday, following Tuesday's 12--over-par 84 with a 7-over-par 79 on Wednesday to finish tied for 26th at 18-over-par 234.
Despite the week's ups and downs, Shaw remained quite proud of his guys' efforts.
"We seemed to have a different player step up each day and give us a boost," he said. "Clarke played terrific, and considering he's only a freshman, it bodes well for our future. Dillon played a great round of golf today - he is turning into one of the Southland's best players, and Kyle (Karnei) put in another steady round and continues to make real progress as an established tournament competitor.
"As for our seniors Corbin and Kaden, I know they both wanted to play better this week," Shaw continued, "but they still demonstrated the resolve and grit that has become a trademark of our squad this year. Corbin will go down as one of the greatest players in ACU history. We would have been a much lesser team this year without his consistent play. Kaden is and will always be a fighter and true competitor. He displays the characteristics on the course that all golfers should aspire to attain - grinding out the best possible score for him whether it's going well or not and keeping his mindset looking forward instead of dwelling on the past."
McNeese State took the lead after shooting a tournament-best 292 in the second round but fell short of winning its first league title since 1979. The Cowboys, who shot 883 (294-292-297), were led by three players who finished in the top 10. Junior Martin Eriksson was the top finisher for McNeese, tying for third at 3-over par (74-71-74–219) followed by a pair of freshmen with Andreas Krokeide, who tied for fifth at 6-over par (71-72-79–222), and Robert MacIntyre, who tied for ninth at 8-over par (81-70-73–224).
Rounding out the top five for the individuals were senior Pep Angles, who finished second at 2-under par (75-76-70–214), Southeastern Louisiana junior Lawrence Allan, who tied for third at 3-over par (75-70-74–219), and Southeastern Louisiana senior Grady Brame (71-77-74–222) and Lamar junior Gregory Wiggins (71-77-74–222), who were in the four-way tie for fifth place at 6-over par.
Southeastern Louisiana (919) finished third followed by Lamar (924), ACU (931), Incarnate Word (932), Stephen F. Austin (933), Houston Baptist (936), Nicholls (943), New Orleans (952) and Central Arkansas (954).
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