The Bearkat men’s golf team placed 10th at the Stephen F. Austin Crown Colony Classic on Monday and Tuesday in Lufkin, Texas.Craig Rex, head coach, said the team struggled a little on the first day with a tough course and team members shooting in the 80s, who normally do not shoot in that range. “We were a little disappointed; it was a very tough golf course and the field was a pretty good field where we would have of liked to have finished first, obviously, but where we probably expected to have finished was somewhere between third and eighth,” Rex said. Sophomore Shaun Goodwin placed 17th with a 227 54-hole total to lead the team to the finish. “We had a pretty good performance out of Shaun Goodwin and Jeff Grace, our senior. This was his first tournament this fall and he was pretty solid,” Rex said. ” We had four guys finish in the top half, and that is an important thing, to be competitive.” Other SHSU scores were: 36th, senior Jeff Grace with 78-79-77234; 46th, senior Scott Ragsdale with 80-82-74236; 46th, freshman Brian Bohlig with 80-79-77236; and 81st, junior Luke Doebele with 74-84-89 247. “Luke Doebele shot a 74 in the first round and came back with an 84 and struggled particularly on one hole in the second round, but he gutted it out and tried to play, which is important because it takes pressure off the other guys,” Rex said. Arkansas-Little Rock won the team championship with 303-283-307 893. Jeremiah Shields of Arkansas State was the individual medallist with 75-73-70 218.”If we performed to our normal expectations, I think we would have finished seventh or eighth, but the problem is you cannot have a couple of guys shooting in the 80s,” he said. Final totals for the team standing were: second, Southeastern Louisiana, 897; third, Southern Mississippi, 908; fourth, McNesse State, 908; fifth, Arkansas State, 908; sixth, Wichita State, 917; seventh, Texas-San Antonio, 919; eighth, Oral Roberts, 920; ninth, Southwest Texas State, 921; 10th, Sam Houston State, 927; 11th, Southwest Missouri, 934; 12th, Nebraska, 942; 13th, Louisiana Tech, 954; 14th, New Mexico State, 960; 15th, Stephen F. Austin, 961; 16th, Texas-Pan American, 962; 17th, Nicholls State, 966; and 18th, Centenary, 973. “The course was really cold, damp and windy,” said Rex. “This was definitely a shot makers course where you have to place the ball in the right position, it is not a course you can overpower.”The Bearkats travel to Ruston, La. on Oct. 21 and 22 for the Louisiana Tech Squire Creek Invitational.A finish in the top-three team standings is a goal for the team in Louisiana, but a top-five finish is the expectation, Rex said. “The whole goal is obviously to place in the nicer, tougher courses, thus preparing you down the road to play in the conference championship,” he said. The Bearkat women’s golf team will travel to Beaumont Oct. 21 and 22 for the Lamar Cardinal Invitational.”We will be going down there a little shorthanded. Raman (Saran), our No. 1 player, has been injured,” Rex said. “She could play and still probably give us pretty tough scores, but we think it is in her best interest not to aggravate anything until we figure out what the problem is.”
Sections