The SMU men’s golf returns to the Hilltop after an unsuccessful Conference USA Championship tournament where the Mustangs tied with Southern Miss for eighth place and shot 20 above par as a team this week.

Central Florida’s score of 862, two under par overall, was low enough to give the Knights their third straight C-USA Championship tournament title.

SMU started the tournament off Friday with strong individual performances that led to a three stroke first place lead over second place Memphis.

Max Buckley turned in a minus five (67) to start the tournament off atop the leader board while 11 time SMU C-USA Golfer of the Week Kelley Kraft shot six birdies to help move himself into third place for the day.

Matt Schovee was the third Mustang in the top 10 with a 71 which placed him tied for 10th overall.

Inclement weather led to a two hour delay that showed its effects on the entire field, only five players shot subpar on the day. SMU struggled as a team to adapt to the conditions, shooting 35 strokes higher then their first day.

The Mustangs finished with a 313 dropping them all the way from first place to ninth. Although the entire field struggled on day two, senior Kelley Kraft continued to shine as a he finished day two three under par and only one stroke behind leaders John Young Kim of Tulsa and Memphis’ Jonathan Fly.

The Mustangs improved slightly on the final day of play as they moved up the leader board to eight place and shot a 293 which put them at 884 as a whole and plus twenty.

Individually, Kraft was the highest finisher for the Mustangs as he slid into 11th place after a par 72 performance on his final day.

The Mustangs can be happy with their 2011 year as they had multiple top finishes and were highly competitive in nearly every tournament they participated in.

The Mustangs best tournament was a first place finish at the San Diego Classic in March, but they also enjoyed success with a fourth place finish at the Baylor Intercollegiate and a second place finish at the NIT Tournament  which was also in March. 

Next up, SMU anticipates the results of the NCAA Regional qualifiers list as they hope to send competitors to one of the six regional tournaments across the nation.

Team Results

1. UCF – 862 (-2)

2. Memphis – 864 (E)

3. Tulsa – 868 (+4)

T5. UAB – 871 (+7)

T5. Houston – 871 (+7)

6. East Carolina – 874 (+10)

7. Marshall – 878 (+14)

T8. SMU – 884 (+20)

T8. Southern Miss -884 (+20)

10. Rice – 898 (+34)

11. UTEP – 909 (+45)