Historic Season Concludes As Little Rock Places Sixth at NCAA Palm Beach Regional

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Little Rock's historic 2021-22 season came to an end Wednesday afternoon as Little Rock finished sixth among the 14-team field at the NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional, one spot out of a return trip to the NCAA Championship.

2022 NCAA Palm Beach Regional Final Results (PDF)
 
The Trojans closed out round three at PGA National with a 4-over 292, posting a 25-over 889 for the 54-hole event. Little Rock finished 11 shots back of fifth-place College of Charleston, slipping just outside the top-five.
 
Entering the day tied for eighth, Little Rock made its move on the front nine as at one point the Trojans were 7-under as a team and had pulled into the number five spot. Magnus Lomholt was strong through the front nine, sitting at 3-under, with Anton Albers and Marcel Rauch sitting at 2-under to pace the Trojans.
 
But as it did to a handful of teams all week, the back nine took a bit out of the Trojans' NCAA Championship hopes as Little Rock went a combined 12-over among the five players. Rauch was solid in his final collegiate round, shooting a 1-over over the back nine and carding a 1-under 71, pacing the team in his final round as a Trojan.
 
Albers and Lomholt were the top two individual finishers for the Trojans as the duo tied for 23rd at 4-over 220, following a 1-over 73 from Lomholt and a 2-over 74 from Albers in round three. Lomholt was the number two competitior on par-three holes, finishing at even-par for the event, and was  the top Trojan finisher in par-fives at 5-under.
 
Jansen Smith finished third with an 8-over 224, tying for 30th individually with a final round 2-over 74. Smith was tied for fifth among the individual field in par-four scoring at 1-over, just ahead of Albers at 3-over, with Rauch tying for 39th with 10-over 226.
 
Little Rock had one substitution in Wednesday's final round as freshman Archie Smith played in place of Nico Horder and shot a 5-over 77, going 3-over on the front nine and 2-over on the back.
 
The Trojans finished the Palm Beach Gardens Regional with victories over three ranked teams, including besting 26th-ranked Purdue (26-over 890) by one shot for the number six spot. Little Rock finished ahead of San Diego (27-over 891), 15th-ranked Notre Dame (32-over 896) and 34th-ranked New Mexico (38-over 902).
 
Top-seeded Vanderbilt captured the team title at 20-under 844, 12 shots better than runner-up Florida State (8-under 856). Florida (2-under 862), South Florida (12-over 876) and College of Charleston (14-over 878) earned the five bids from the Palm Beach Gardens Regional in Scottsdale next week.
 
The result brings the Trojans season to a close earlier than it was hoping, but it was another memorable year for Little Rock. The Trojans won three team events in 2021-22, including the 2022 Sun Belt Championship, and boasted the leagues Golfer of the Year (Albers) and Coach of the Year (Jake Harrington) with three All-Sun Belt performers (Albers, Lomholt, Smith).
 
Little Rock closes the year with a team scoring average of 288.48, ranked second in program history, and look to finish among the top-60 nationally for the second-straight season. With nearly the entire roster returning, minus the loss of fifth-year senior Rauch, the Trojans have already set their sights on a return trip to Regionals as they get set to join the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022-23.
 
2022 NCAA Palm Beach Gardens Regional Little Rock Results

Place	Golfer	Score
T-23rd	Anton Albers	74-72-74 = 220 (+4)
	Magnus Lomholt	74-73-73 = 220 (+4)
T-30th	Jansen Smith	73-77-74 = 224 (+8)
T-39th	Marcel Rauch	75-80-71 = 226 (+10)
N/A	Nico Horder	74-80-S = 154 (+10)
N/A	Archie Smith	S-S-77 = 77 (+5)
6TH	LITTLE ROCK	295-302-292 = 889 (+25)

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