The SMU men’s golf team cinched fourth place in the Conference USA Men’s Golf Championship on Tuesday afternoon. After advancing from a ninth-place finish on day one to fifth place on day two, the Mustangs defeated nationally ranked No. 19 Central Florida to finish in the top five.
The University of Alabama- Birmingham took the gold with a combined score of 857, just 16 strokes under SMU’s score of 873. UAB’s Zach Sucher also won for individual best score after carding a three-day total of 207 and nine under par. With the win, UAB earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
Southern Miss finished in second with a 866, and the University of Memphis finished in third after carding a 868. The tournament was played on the par 72, 6,935-yard course of the Texarkana Country Club course in Texarkana, Ark.
SMU fared a little better on day two, moving up from ninth to fifth place after carding a team total of 581. The Mustangs shot 18 under from Sunday’s score, climbing over the University of Tulsa, East Caroline University, UCF, UTEP, Rice University and Marshall University to break into the top five.
Tewes improved to seventh overall, shooting 69 to move his score to 169 between two rounds. Kleckner also improved after carding a 71 to move him to 12th. Kraft, Minahan and Barton all finished within two shots of each other. Kraft shot a 74, Minahan posted a 75 and Barton came in at 76.
Memphis remained in the lead, but the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Zach Sucher took over first place by three strokes.
Sunday’s opening round put the Mustangs in ninth place after shooting just 7-over par. Day one consisted of 55 players from C-USA competing on the 18-hole course, but no player from SMU was able to make par.
Tewes and Kleckner both posted one over par (73), tying them for 22nd. Kraft finished Sunday’s round in 32nd at 74, Minahan rested in 41st after recording a score of 75 and Barton came in last for the Mustangs with a 76 to put him to 43rd.
First place was still up for grabs between six conference contenders, while Memphis led the tournament overall after finishing out the day 11-under par at 277.
Following the tournament, Kraft was named C-USA Freshman of the Year by the league’s coaches. Kraft has also won C-USA’s Men’s Golfer of the Week honors twice in his first season on the Hilltop.
Before participating in the conference tournament, Kraft was named second-team All C-USA, making him the only rookie to earn an all-conference recognition.
