Trojans make clutch shots to hold off Michigan, win team title at The Clerico

BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma — Little Rock's first-day lead was enough for the Trojans to hold off the field Tuesday and win the team championships at The Clerico, held at Cedar Ridge Country Club. The win is the Trojans' first of the year and comes in their final fall tournament. It's also the first career team title for head coach Austin Eoff.
 
TOURNAMENT LEADERBOARD
 
"Unbelievable fight from the guys today," Eoff said. "We knew it was going to play hard with the wind and rain today and we just needed to string a lot of pars together. We got off to a very rough start but we just kept fighting and hitting solid shots and gave ourselves a chance to win it at the end and the guys capitalized on it."
 
The tournament had its fair share of drama, especially at the end to solidify Little Rock's top position. Archie Smith hit birdies on his last two holes, Magnus Lomholt hit a birdie on 17 and converted a two-putt par on the 18^th. Rhett South hit par on arguably the toughest hole of the course to end his final round, and Matteo Cristoni sunk a 20-foot putt ion the last hole for par.
 
All of that turned into a one-stroke victory for the Trojans (12-over 852) ahead of Michigan (13-over 853) as both teams fired equal team scores of 292 in the third and final round. UTEP finished third, UTSA was fourth and host Oral Roberts rounded out the Top 5.
 
Archie Smith led the Trojans with a fourth-place finish individually. Smith finished 2-under 208 (65-73-70), five strokes out of third and six behind the top spot. South also finished in the Top 10, posting a final score of 3-over 213 to end up tied for seventh. Cristoni (T-16^th), Jansen Smith (T-21^st) and Lomholt (T-59^th) rounded out the Little Rock scores.
 
"This was a great way to cap off the fall season," Eoff said. "We've continued to get better this fall and it was great to see them find a way to win today. I am very proud of each of them."
 
The Trojans have improved their team standing in each tournament this fall, posting finishes of ninth, eighth, seventh, third, and first, respectively.