GULF SHORES, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's golf's Jack Hearn took home his first collegiate victory while the Jags shot a season-low 22-under par 842 to win the Craft Farms Intercollegiate on Tuesday.

The Jags shot a season-low 11-under par 277 during the first round of play. Four Jaguars: Jack Hearn, Mathias Lorentzen, Will Skipp and Dawson Atkinson were in the top-10 after day one. Hearn led the rest of the tournament and claimed his first individual title while shooting his lowest round, a six-under par 66, during round two. The Jags shot their lowest tournament score, a 22-under par 842, to claim the tournament title. 

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Craft Farms Intercollegiate (South Alabama)
Dates: 3/27-29 (Sunday-Tuesday)
Course: Craft Farms Golf Course – Cotton Creek (Par 72, 7,107 yds)

TEAM SCORES
1) South Alabama 277-279-286—842 (-22); T2) Southern Illinois 289-289-287—865 (+1); T2) Georgia State 288-289-288—865 (+1); 4) Louisiana 293-292-287—866 (+2); 5) Lamar 292-292-284—868 (+4); 6) Rice 291-287-292—870 (+6); T7) Eastern Michigan 289-291-292—872 (+8); T7) Oral Roberts 286-290-296—872 (+8); T7) Oakland 295-293-284—872 (+8); 10) Illinois State 304-289-289—882 (+18); 11) Eastern Kentucky 297-292-296—885 (+21); 12) DePaul 301-297-294—892 (+28); 13) UConn 310-292-294—896 (+32)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Jack Hearn, South Alabama 67-66-70—203 (-13); 2) Matthis Besard, Southern Illinois 67-67-73—207 (-9); 3) Mathias Lorentzen, South Alabama 68-70-72—210 (-6); T4) Ty Celone, Eastern Michigan 72-67-72—211 (-5); T4) Maxence Mugnier, Georgia State 72-69-70—211 (-5)

SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
1) Jack Hearn 67-66-70—203 (-13); 3) Mathias Lorentzen 68-70-72—210 (-6); T8) Will Skipp 70-72-73—215 (-1); T11) Jordan Plunkett 72-71-73—216 (E); T17) Jacob LeCroy 75-72-71—218 (+2); T53) Eli Mitchell* 76-75-74—225 (+9); T57) Dawson Atkinson* 71-81-75—227 (+11); 68) Kevin Dahlberg* 77-80-77—232 (+16)
*Competed as an individual

TEE SHOTS
- Hearn recorded his lowest tournament score, a 13-under par 203, during the event. 
- Hearn also led in both par 3 and par 4 scoring, each by a three-under par margin. 
- Skipp shot his lowest round, a two-under par 70, during the first round of play. 
- Atkinson tied his lowest round, a one-under par 71, on the first day of the event. 
- Lorentzen was third in par 5 scoring with an eight-under average of 4.33 strokes. 
- USA shot a season-low 842 tournament score while claiming victory ahead of 12 other programs. 

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On the event: "It was a great win for the guys and the team, it's hard to win, there's so many good programs out here. To have a week like this, from the opening round at 11-under and following it up with nine-under and shooting under again today, it was a fantastic week. We got contributions from everybody and to do it close to home is even more special. We had friends and family out there, it was a great week for South Alabama golf."

On Hearn's performance: "Jack [Hearn] played awesome! Typically, when you win you have to have somebody go off and we had some big performances from Jack in the first two rounds. The first day he made the turn at one-under par— we always talk about being patient enough for something good to happen— and he just kept hitting shots and as he turned into the back nine on day one, his putter got hot and he shot 32 on the back [nine] and that catapulted him. The second round he was flawless, he executed golf shots in pretty good wind. [He] made putts and took advantage of opportunities. Today, he was patient all day, he kept on hitting a lot of quality golf shots, made a birdie on [hole] 16 today—the demanding par three—so, he was really in control of his game all week. We couldn't be more happier for him, it's a double bonus when you get a team and individual win."

Senior Jack Hearn
On how the weekend went:
"I think the first two rounds really set me up to go out there and be patient in the last round. I didn't have to force anything because I was already ahead. I did have one guy from Illinois State that was one shot behind me. But again, he was behind and had to chase me. So, I just had to go out there and keep making good swings and give myself a few good looks at birdies. It did come pretty late in the round. I didn't start making birdies until the back nine. Again, you just have to stay patient out there."

On the first collegiate win at a tournament:
"It feels pretty good. Obviously, leading from the start and winning felt a little strange. I usually am chasing someone from behind to try and get the lead. So, it was a little different this time leading from the very beginning. I think I managed it pretty well though."

Up next: South Alabama will travel to Starkville, Miss., on April 11 to compete in the Mossy Oak Collegiate Championship hosted by Mississippi State.  

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—