Women’s golf, ranked 23rd, barely missed winning their third consecutive tournament, placing second Tuesday for their last tournament of the fall season at the Alamo Invitational in San Antonio. Men’s golf, ranked 28th, finished sixth at the fourth annual Royal Oaks Intercollegiate at the Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas.
The Lady Bears shot 5-over 896, finished three strokes behind host and tournament champion UTSA. The men finished 11 strokes behind Texas A&M, who finished third, 14 strokes behind of Kentucky and 15 strokes behind of Nebraska.
“Tuesday’s final round was challenging with it being windier than the previous rounds,” head coach Jay Goble said in a press release. “Coupled with tougher pin placements, we still played well, but still think we could have played better.”
The BU men shot a 3-under 213 for a sixth place finish. Texas A&M, ranked 29th, shot a 22-under 830 won by one stroke over Duke, who is ranked 27th and shot a 21-under 831. This win for A&M was its third Royal Oaks title in the tournament’s four-year existence.
Oklahoma finished third at 7-under 845, followed by two-time defending national champion Augusta State, who shot 4-under 848, placed fourth and New Mexico shot even-par 852 in fifth.
“I think we did some good things this week,” head coach Greg Priest said in the press release. “We didn’t have a great first round Monday, but we played well in the afternoon round. Our play in the final round was ok, but in all three rounds, we needed one more score and we needed to finish off the round better.”
Freshman Hayley Davis, ranked 29th, finished second for the third time this fall, shooting 2-under 214. Davis finished only one stroke behind individual champion Fabiola Arriaga of UTSA, while senior Chelsey Cothran, ranked 72nd nationally, gained her third consecutive top-five finish with fifth place at even-par 216.
“Hayley [Davis] is one of the best golfers in the country,” Goble said. “She was in contention to win from start to finish and is as consistent as they come. To finish second three times in four events is very impressive.”
Junior Ryan O’Rear was the men’s top finisher, tying for 11th at 3-under. O’Rear had a tough first round Monday, but was able to bounce back with rounds of 67 and 68 to finish as the only Bear under par.
“Ryan [O’Rear] played well in the first round, but had a couple of double-bogeys on par-5’s,” Priest said. “He bounced back in the afternoon and played well again on Tuesday. Overall, he had a really solid tournament,” Priest said. “That put an end to a pretty strong fall for him.”
Senior Valerie Sternebeck was able to receive her career-first top-10 finish for the Lady Bears, placing eighth at 2-over 218. Senior Jaclyn Jansen tied for 27th at 8-over 224 and freshman Stani Schiavone tied for 51st at 15-over 231.
“We had an outstanding fall and our performances these last few months have given our team a tremendous amount of confidence heading into the spring,” Goble said. “The girls believe they are one of the top-ranked teams in the nation and can compete with anyone.
“We are a little disappointed with how we finished Tuesday, but we have the confidence to play our game and do a lot of great things in the spring. I’m very proud of how our team played in the fall.”
Freshman Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen finished even-par 213 for the BU men, placing 22nd, while senior Drew McGee, playing as an individual, tied for 24th at 1-over 214. Senior Joakim Mikkelsen, Baylor’s top scorer entering the fall finale, tied for 30th at 3-over.
Individuals Matthew Seligmann shot 4-over 217 and Jerry Ruiz shot 5-over 218, tied for 40th and 43rd, while freshman Kyle Jones shot 7-over and placed 51st. Redshirt freshman Niclas Mansson shot 10-over 223, tied for 60th.
“We had a lot of three-putts and bogeys on some finishing holes,” Priest said. “Those are things we have to get better at. When it comes down to winning tournaments and championships, you have to learn to finish rounds and that’s for where we need to improve.”
The Lady Bears will return for their spring season Feb. 12-14 in Sorrento, Fla., at the UCF Challenge, while the BU men will return Feb. 13-14 at the UTSA Oak Hills in San Antonio.
