SHSU’s men’s golf team finished as the runner-up in the Cellular One Raising Cane Classic, which was hosted by Southern Mississippi University on Monday and Tuesday.The men’s golf team rounded out the tournament with a total score of 868, falling 20 (points or strokes) behind the winners of the tournament, Southern Mississippi, with a final score of 848. Senior David Ward and sophomore Shaun Goodwin, who both finished among the top 10 individual medallists at the tournament, led the team to the second place finish.Ward placed sixth individually with a 54-hole score of 72-69-72 and a total of 213, while Goodwin held eighth place with a score of 71-72-71 and a total score of 214.SHSU golf coach Craig Rex said both Ward and Goodwin played a good tournament and helped the team to beat some district teams, which were ranked higher than SHSU. “Last year Ward did not get to travel to many of the tournaments, but he came in this fall and he was a little more focused on his goal,” said Rex. “He played a good game and I think it will give him a lot more confidence for the season.”The tournament was played on a tough course, but Goodwin played a good game although he did not perform as well as he would have wanted, Rex said.Goodwin was definitely one of the top two freshmen, and he was listed in an article as one of the top players to watch for this season, he said.”The thing is, (Goodwin) was not panicking and he had comfort and confidence,” said Rex. “He stuck to his game plan during the tournament and it was a pretty tough course.”This second place finish started the year off right because we were able to beat a lot of district teams. Our district is one of the toughest districts because it includes all of Texas, he said.”You only get to see some teams a few times a year and you are ranked every year during your head-to-head competitions,” said Rex. “Our goal is to hopefully never have anyone shoot off 75.”Individual medallist Michael Soroka from Southern Mississippi won the tournament with a total score of 210, and was followed by his teammate, Justin Emil, with the same overall total.Other SHSU golf team medallists were senior Scott Ragsdale, who finished 22nd with a total of 220; junior Luke Doebele who scored a total of 222; and freshman Brian Bohling rounded out the Bearkat individualists with a 47th finish and a total score of 225.The tournament was the first for the SHSU men’s golf teams this fall. The next action for the Bearkats will be at the University of North Texas Mean Green Classic Sept. 16 and 17 at the Bridlewood Golf Club in Flower Mound, Texas.”This tournament was good to send a message that we have a pretty good selection of players this fall,” said Rex. “As long as we play within ourselves, we will be fine.”
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