FINAL RESULTS
PAYSON, Ariz. - No. 143 Abilene Christian men's golf recorded the best round in the field to close out the Western Athletic Conference Championship on Sunday. The Wildcats carded a 1-under 287 to wrap up the tournament in fifth place with top-10 efforts by
Preston DeFriend and Grégoire Hoyeau.
ACU finished its weekend at 28-over 892, eight strokes back of team champion Seattle U at 20-over 884. Dane Huddleston of Utah Valley defeated the Redhawks' Kevin Li on the second playoff hole for the individual title after each stood at 1-under 215 after three rounds.
The Wildcats shot third-best at The Golf Club at Chaparral Pines on par 3 holes at 16-over and tied for third on par 4s at 34-over. ACU amassed the third-most pars with 150, while its 40 birdies tied for fifth.
DeFriend saved his best round for last, firing a 2-under 70 to jump seven spots on the leaderboard into a tie for sixth place. It's the best finish of the Lubbock native's career, as he logged a 3-over 219. DeFriend tallied five birdies on Sunday, giving him 10 for the tournament to lead the Wildcats. He shot best among all individuals on par 3s at 1-under and tied for fifth on par 4s at 4-over.
Hoyeau matched his best career finish in eighth place, doing so on three other occasions, including at the Bentwater Intercollegiate this spring. He matched his first round score at an even-par 72, closing out at 4-over 220. Hoyeau continued ACU's success on par 3s, tying for second at even par while matching DeFriend on par 4s at 4-over. His 35 pars tied for second in the field and paced the Wildcats.
Jack Hollingsed registered one of the best rounds of the tournament with a 3-under 69 to leap 17 spots into 14th place. He notched six birdies in the third round to give him nine total, second among the Wildcats. Hollingsed was the team's top performer on par 5s at 5-under.
Jaime Lewis rose three spots into a tie for 33rd at 17-over 233 after a 4-over 76 effort. He overcame a 5-over showing on the front nine with a 1-under and three birdies on the back nine.
Thomas Buisson saw his first action of the tournament in the third round, shooting 7-over 79 with a birdie on hole No. 5.
