MONTGOMERY, Texas – Jacob LeCroy matched the low 54-hole score of his career to post a top-10 result and lead the University of South Alabama men's golf team at the Bentwater Intercollegiate, which ended on Wednesday at the Bentwater Yacht and Country Club.

The junior opened the event with scores of 71 and 2-under-par 69 on his way to a 213 three-round total, tying for seventh place in the individual standings.  Jack Hearn added a 70 on the last day of the competition to finish in a tie for 19th with a 217 54-hole score, and Jordan Plunkett just missed ending up among the top 20 following a 71 in the final round as well as the Jaguars placed seventh in the team standings with an 871 total.

Sam Houston State — the tournament host — recorded a 5-under-par 847 group score to win the team title by a 20-stroke margin over Rice and Midland (Texas) C.C., with the Bearkats' Chad Swell claiming medalist honors after carding a 14-under-par 199 over three days of play.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Bentwater Intercollegiate (Sam Houston State)
Dates: 11/11-13 (Monday-Wednesday)
Course: Bentwater Yacht and Country Club (par 71, 6,788 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=23009
Final results

TEAM SCORES
1) Sam Houston State 287-281-279—847 (-5); T2) Rice 296-289-282—867; T2) Midland (Texas) C.C. 287-292-288—867; 4) Texas State 285-297-287—869; T5) South Dakota State 289-296-285—870; T5) Texas-San Antonio 294-290-286—870; 7) South Alabama 291-288-292—871; 8) Florida Atlantic 290-291-294—875; 9) Houston Baptist 303-293-288—884; 10) Nicholls 296-298-296—890; 11) Texas-Rio Grande Valley 292-308-304—904; 12) Prairie View A&M 322-321-326—969.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Chad Sewell, SHSU 69-65-65—199 (-14); 2) Shaheen Momin, HBU 73-68-69—210; T3) Raghav Chugh, Rice 69-70-72—211; T3) Jack Tanner, SDSU 69-72-70—211; T5) Samual McKenzie, MCC 69-73-70—212; T5) Gene Chaikangwal*, SHSU 70-68-74—212; T7) Jacob LeCroy, USA 71-69-73—213; T7) Terrin Anderson, TXST 68-74-71—213; T7) Gregor Graham, MCC 70-72-71—213; T10) four individuals with 214.

SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
T7) Jacob LeCroy 71-69-73—213 (E); T19) Jack Hearn 75-72-70—217; T21) Jordan Plunkett 74-74-71—219; T43) Will Skipp 72-73-80—225; T47) Dawson Atkinson 73-75-78—227; 62) Kevin Dahlberg* 75-82-76—233.
*denotes competed as an individual

TEE SHOTS
-The field this week included 72 players from 13 programs.
-South was third in the event in scoring on par-three holes and fourth on the course's par fives — finishing 10 under on the latter — while also sharing the tournament lead with four eagles.
-The finish was also the best of LeCroy's career, as he has now placed among the top 12 in each of his three appearances at tournaments the Jaguars have competed in in Texas.
-In addition to carding two of USA's four eagles, he was among the top 10 in the field with a team-high 11 birdies over the three days of the event.
-Hearn, who was tied for sixth among the 72 competitors in scoring on par fours for the week, now shares the team lead with LeCroy as both have posted four scores at or below par on the season.
-Plunkett has recorded a round at or under par at each of the Jaguars' first three tournaments of the year with his performance in the final round.
-Not only did Skipp end up among the top 10 in the field with a 1 over total on par-three holes, he and Plunkett were second among all players after carding 38 pars over the 54 holes of play.
-Atkinson posted eagles on the first and final day of the event, and in between he had five birdies — highlighted by a 3-under finish on the last three holes — in the second round.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On the team's performance this week: "It was a different type of course than we are used to seeing.  The wind was blowing and pins were jammed all week, which made it a good test.  Unfortunately yesterday we didn't take advantage of the first couple holes which present birdies, we weren't able to build any momentum from the start and had to count a big round which was ultimately the difference.  Overall, it was more of a grind this week, but a strong mentality kept us in the game the first two rounds and gave us a chance which is certainly a positive and something to build on moving forward."
On what Jacob LeCroy did well to earn a top-10 finish at the event: "This is a course where you had to have good control of your golf ball, you had to put the ball on the right sides of the fairways and manage the areas on greens.  Jacob did a nice job of just managing his game and executing shots, and he made a few key putts to keep his momentum going.  Jacob is continuing to get better, he is learning his game, making better choices and taking advantage when he has the opportunity.  It is good to see him follow the last event with another solid week; he has been putting in the work and it's nice to see him play well."
On what the focus will be on for the team preparing for the final tournament of the fall: "Steelwood is a great golf course and playing the par fives well is key to good scoring out there.  Pitching and scoring shots is something we will spend time on.  It was an emphasis at our practices these last couple of weeks, and it needs to continue to be a focus.  The last month or so, we've been doing the hard stuff well but not taking advantage of the easy things.  We will focus on the process of getting better every day and learning from the last few events, that is where we will spend our time."

Up next: The Jaguars will wrap up the fall season with the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 30-31, the first of three events South will play host to during the 2021-22 campaign.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Birdie Club — the men's golf specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Birdie Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's golf program. For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/birdieclub.

—USA—