Dooley, Clouse lead ACU to best finish of spring

Monday, March 25

Kerrville, Texas

Abilene Christian

The Big Texan

Photo by: Tom Shaw Sr.

Dooley, Clouse lead ACU to best finish of spring

3/26/2019 10:46:00 PM | Men's Golf

Final results

KERRVILLE, Texas – The ACU Wildcats fired a third straight under-par round Tuesday as they finished off their best performance of the spring season with a third-place finish at The Big Texan golf tournament at the Comanche Trace Golf Course.

ACU carded a 4-under-par 284 in the third and final round to finish at 19-under-par 845, 14 shots behind the team champion, Texas State, which finished at 33-under-par 831. New Mexico State was second at 25-under-par 839, followed by ACU in third, UT-Rio Grande Valley in fourth (three-round total of 18-under-par 846) and Odessa College in fifth at 12-under-par 852).

ACU's previous best finish this spring was a seventh-place finish Feb. 25-26 at the HBU-Colin Montgomerie Invitational in Houston. The Wildcats were under par in all three rounds, starting with a 3-under-par 285 in Monday's first round and then a 12-under-par 276 in the second round Monday. The Wildcats also defeated two Southland Conference rivals in Incarnate Word (sixth at 11-under-par 853) and New Orleans (seventh at 6-over-par 870).

"This was a very solid tournament for our guys," ACU head coach Tom Shaw said. "It is an honor to coach these young men and they continue to be wonderful ambassadors for Abilene Christian. As soon as we arrived at the Comanche Trace golf course we felt very comfortable with the layout. We confirmed that feeling with some personal bests and contributions from everyone on the squad, including our individual Ethan Eppinette, who shot his collegiate low round (Tuesday)."

Eppinette finished tied for 49th at 10-over-par 226, but finished his tournament run Tuesday with a final-round 2-under-par 70 over the par-72, 7,059-yard layout.

ACU's top finisher was Bryce Dooley (playing at No. 1 for the Wildcats), followed up rounds of 71-67 on Monday with a final round 70 to finish at 8-under-par 208, tied for eighth in the individual race. Alex Clouse put the finishing touches on an outstanding tournament by finishing tied for 10th at 7-under-par 209. After struggling in Monday's opening round with a 3-under-par 75, Clouse finished 66-68, 10-under park over his final two rounds.

Francisco Osio finished 16th at 3-under-par 213 (68-73-72), while Garrett Glanton finished tied for 29th at 3-over-par 219 (73-70-76) and Chase Allison was tied for 45th at 8-over-par 224 (73-77-74).

"Bryce Dooley and Alex Clouse played spectacular golf this week, both earning top 10 finishes in the event and also intensifying their battle for No. 1 scoring leader on the team," Shaw said. "This week's result against some very good teams has given us a much-needed boost of confidence heading into our final two events before conference. We're excited for the opportunity next week in Conroe and then two weeks following that in Houston to further build on what we achieved this week."

ACU is back in action next week at the Bearkat Invitational — hosted by Sam Houston State — at the Walden on Lake Conroe Golf Course in Montgomery, Texas.