By Laurean Love
Reporter
Men’s golf, which is ranked 18th, finished fifth Tuesday at the Lone Star Invitational in San Antonio, and senior Joakim Mikkelsen finished second.
Mikkelsen came very close to posting his second career victory with a score of 6-under par, while Rice’s Jeff Wibawa shot a 7-under to win the individual title.
“Joakim gave himself some chances to win it,” head coach Greg Priest said in a press release. “He’s disappointed that he didn’t win, but he did put himself in position. He’s played extremely well thus far and he’s a tough competitor, so I know he’ll continue his high level of play.”
Although there were extremely windy conditions, Mikkelsen shot a 3-over 75 during Tuesday’s final round, falling one stroke behind the individual medalist.
Mikkelsen has posted four straight top-10 finishes and back-to-back top-five finishes. Mikkelsen was one of only six golfers to finish under par.
Mikkelsen now ranks fifth in program history in both career top-five finishes with eight and top-10 finishes with 15.
New Mexico, ranked 16th, won the Lone Star Invitational, shooting 3-under 861, while Texas A&M and North Texas tied for second at 5-over 896. Texas State followed in fourth at 6-over 870 and Baylor in fifth. None of the 15 teams shot under-par during the final round.
“Just by looking at the scores, you can tell everyone had the same tough conditions,” Priest said. “We were probably facing winds of 25-30 miles per hour, but it’s definitely something we should be able to play in.
Junior Ryan O’Rear shot a 3-over 219 for a 17th place finish, posting his fourth straight top-20 finish to start the season, while redshirt freshman Niclas Mansson had the lowest final-round for Baylor with a 73.
This was Mansson’s season debut and he shot at 4-over 220 for a 23rd place finish.
Junior Jerry Ruiz tied for 44th at 10-over 226. Freshman Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen tied for 50th at 11-over 227.
“It was a tough day for everyone,” Priest said. “It’s one of those bad days we have to put behind us and move on to the next one. We’ll see how we bounce back at Royal Oaks.”
Baylor will finish the season as a co-host at the fourth annual Royal Oaks Intercollegiate Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at the Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas.
