HOUSTON ? The University of South Alabama men’s golf team had a trio of players finish among the top 12 at the Sun Belt Conference Championships Wednesday, including two who earned all-league honors, helping the Jaguars to a fifth-place finish among the field of 12 teams following the final round of the event at the Cypresswood Golf Course.
Marc-Etienne Bussieres fired a season-low 5-under-par 67 on the par-72, 7,141-yard layout to move up from a tie for 13th place to end the tournament third with a 2-under-par 214 total, and Jack Hiluta used a 74 over the final 18 holes to post a three-round score of 215 and finish in fourth place. Both were selected all-Sun Belt Conference for the first time in their careers.
Cody Klein also carded a 74 Wednesday, placing him in a tie for 12th place with a 219 total, his second-lowest 54-hole score this year.
Bussieres’ bogey-free round began with nine straight pars, but he started the back nine with a birdie on No. 10. He added two more birdies on the 12th and 13th holes to move to 3-under par, then scored a three on the par-four 15th and 17th to post the lowest individual round total of the tournament.
Hiluta recorded three birdies after the turn to overcome a triple bogey on No. 4, and Klein collected four birdies for the second day in a row for his best overall finish at an event ? his previous top performance was a tie for 17th at the season-opening Palmer’s Toyota Fall Intercollegiate in the middle of September.
David Leathem improved his score on each day of the championships, closing out the event with a 76 that included birdies on each of the final two holes, while Daniel Burns shot a 78 in his final round as a Jaguar. Burns was tied for 44th with a 229 score, and Leathem tied for 54th in the field of 60 individuals with a 235 total.
USA collected a team score of 291 in the final round for a three-day 875 total.
“Marc, Jack and Cody had great individual tournaments, I’m proud of and happy for them. I’m excited that we have two players who finished in the top five coming back next year,” stated Jag head coach Ben Hannan. “On the other hand, I’m disappointed because we had an opportunity to win. Our score today might have been good enough on other days, but Middle Tennessee played well on the back nine and our second round really hurt us.”
Middle Tennessee earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals with a 2-over-par 866 score after shooting a 284 on the last day. Denver was second with an 872 team total, just three shots ahead of the Jags. North Texas ended the tournament third and Louisiana-Lafayette was fourth, finishing just two strokes and one shot, respectively, in front of USA.
The Jaguars’ 283 score in the first round ? the lowest team total of the championships ? was matched by the Ragin’ Cajuns Wednesday.
Espen Kofstad of Denver earned medalist honors after posting a 68 in the final round for an 8-under-par 208 total. He finished five shots ahead of Arkansas State’s Lloyd du Preez.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
?USA?
Sun Belt Conference Championships
Cypresswood Golf Course, Houston, Texas
Par 72, 7,141 yards
Team Scores: 1) Middle Tennessee 295-287-284?866 (+2); 2) Denver 291-291-290?872; 3) North Texas 297-288-288?873; 4) Louisiana-Lafayette 298-293-283?874; 5) South Alabama 283-301-291?875; 6) UALR 290-295-291?876; 7) Arkansas State 290-298-299?887; 8) New Orleans 294-291-306?891; 9) Louisiana-Monroe 306-298-293?897; 10) Troy 298-303-300?901; 11) Western Kentucky 300-312-293?905; 12) Florida Atlantic 305-310-305?920.
Individual Leaders: 1) Espen Kofstad, DU 70-70-68?208 (-8); 2) Lloyd du Preez, ASU 70-72-71?213; 3) Marc-Etienne Bussieres, USA 70-77-67?214; 4) Jack Hiluta, USA 69-72-74?215; 5) Chas Narramore, MT 75-72-69?216; T6) Nathan Sheen, NT 72-75-71?218; T6) Clarke Kincaid, NT 73-70-75?218; T6) Kyle Pritchard, ULL 79-72-67?218; T6) Jason Millard, MT 75-73-70?218; T6) Tyler Thompson, ASU 70-75-73?218; T6) Dustin Petit, ULL 74-74-70?218.
South Alabama Scores: 3) Marc-Etienne Bussieres 70-77-67?214 (-2); 4) Jack Hiluta 69-72-74?216; T12) Cody Klein 72-73-74?219; T44) Daniel Burns 72-79-78?229; T54) David Leathem 80-79-76?235.
