LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – After building a commanding lead through two rounds, Little Rock cruised to the Everett Buick GMC Invitational title Tuesday afternoon at Chenal Country Club.
The Trojans blistered the Founders Course, finishing at
34-under par for the week. After shooting
11-under and
12-under on Monday, Little Rock added another
11-under round in Tuesday's finale.
UAB placed second at
13-under, followed by
Lipscomb at
12-under.
"It's always great to end the fall season with a victory — and even better to do it at home," said head coach
Austin Eoff. "The guys came out strong this morning on a tough stretch of the course and never looked back. This marks the second straight year we've won our home tournament after another convincing performance last fall."
Sophomore
Ed Featherstone battled for the individual title but came up just one shot short of Lipscomb's
Manas Minas, finishing second at
13-under.
Rhett South made a strong final-day push, jumping eight spots to finish tied for
fourth at 9-under, while
Mark Stockdale took
eighth at 7-under.
Viggo Talasmaki rounded out the scoring at
4-under, his best finish of his first semester at Little Rock.
"As a team, we didn't count a single round over par this week and finished with three players inside the top 10," Eoff said. "Ed came up just short, but his runner-up finish caps off a tremendous fall for him — it's only a matter of time before he wins his first collegiate event. I'm really proud of Rhett and the way he performed to finish fourth, showing great focus and commitment to the team. Mark put together another solid week with an eighth-place finish, and Viggo capped off the fall with his best performance of the semester."
The Everett Buick GMC Invitational has become an annual tradition for the Trojans, and Eoff expressed gratitude to those who make the event possible.
"A really big thank you to
Chenal Country Club and
Everett Buick GMC," he said. "Scott, Dade, and their staffs did an incredible job hosting the event and providing great course conditions all week. Everett Buick GMC continues to support our program and this tournament, and we can't thank them enough for everything they do for us."
Little Rock will open its spring season
February 16–18 at
The Prestige in
La Quinta, California, as the Trojans begin their push toward another NCAA Regional berth.
"We'll enjoy this win — because winning in golf, especially team golf, is never easy — and then turn our focus to the offseason to see where we can continue to improve heading into the spring," Eoff said.
