McNeese repeats win of Southland Championship
MCKINNEY, Texas – McNeese successfully
defended their title at Stonebridge Ranch
Country Club to win their second-straight
Southland Men’s Golf Championship. The
Cowboys shot 918 as a team, led by Blake
Elliot and Andreas Krokeide, who finished
tied for fifth and tied for 11th, respectively.
An early morning thunderstorm pushed
back the round’s start time by an hour and a
half, leaving the course wetter and slower than
the opening two days. Temperatures dropped
sharply as the day wore on and strong wind
gusts remained a factor throughout the round.
Ian Berrigan and Daniel O’Loughlin
contributed to a well-rounded team finish for
McNeese, finishing 15th and 19th, respectively.
Berrigan shot a 233 while O’Loughlin carded
a 235.
Stephen F. Austin jumped two spots on the
final day to finish as runner-up behind a deep
performance, also registering three top-20
individual finishers and a team score of 922.
Blake Stock recovered from a challenging
opening round score of 81 to card a 73 in both
round two and three to lead the Lumberjacks
with a score of 233. He finished tied for third
overall. Zach Sudinsky tied for 16th (234) and
Angelo Leyvani tied for 20th (236).
Sam Houston State also improved two
spots after their round three performance to
finish third as a team, just one stroke behind
SFA with a score of 923. All five players for
the Bearkats scored under 80 on the final day
– the only team in the field to do so. William
44
Holcomb led the effort, scoring 73-79-75 for
a 227 total, good for a tie for third place as an
individual.
While Nicholls was not able to hold on to
their momentum throughout round three,
which saw them fall from a close second place
to fourth, Albert Badosa-Soler shined, finishing
tied for first with score of 225. Badosa-Soler
forced a playoff for individual medalist honors
with Houston Baptist’s Val Almendarez.
Louis Tomlinson of Central Arkansas,
Jack Lee of Nicholls and Elliot of McNeese
all finished tied for fifth with scores of 228.
Houston Baptist’s Carlos Trevino and
Nicholls’ Josh Fullilove carded 229s to tie
for eighth. Paul Obermann of Southeastern
Louisiana rounded out the top scorers in 10th
place with a score of 230.
In the individual playoff, Badosa-Soler and
Almendarez resumed play at hole 18, from
which they would tie twice and revert to hole
17. Again, both individuals carded the same
score on 17 and 18, reverting to hole 17 for
round five. Tying again on 17, Badosa-Soler
finally separated in round six on 18, winning
the individual medalist title over Almendarez.
McNeese earns an automatic bid to the
NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship
for the second-straight year, with regional
rounds taking place May 15-17. Badosa-Soler
earns an automatic bid as an individual. The
NCAA Selection Show will air live on the
Golf Channel on Thursday, May 4 at 11 a.m.
CT. Story provided by the Southland Conference.