The Wildcat golf team finished second out of 18 teams in the Charles Coody West Texas Intercollegiate at the Diamondback Golf Club Tuesday afternoon. The University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos shot four strokes better than the Wildcats on the final day to win the tournament.
The Bronchos trailed ACU by a stroke entering the final day of tournament play. However, a final round of 281 led the Bronchos to a four shot victory over the Wildcats. ACU finished the tournament at six under, while UCO won the tournament shooting nine under.
“We were winning by one after the first day, then the second day we didn’t play bad, but nobody played great,” Alex Carpenter said. “We were kind of disappointed we didn’t win because it was at our home course, but we have the first tournament under our belt, and we are taking away the positives and looking ahead to our next tournament in Lawton, Oklahoma.”
Midwestern State made a push on the final day, shooting 10 under to finish three under for the tournament and third overall.
The Wildcats had two individuals place in the top 10. Cyril Bouniol shot a combined two-day score of 139, earning him eighth overall in the tournament. Bouniol finished one stroke better than ACU teammate Trey Sullivan, who finished tied for ninth overall.
“I think we did pretty good. We did a lot better than last year,” Bouniol said. “Some of the freshman showed that they can play good golf, which is key for the team and their confidence.”
Alex Carpenter shot a 141 total finishing 15th overall and Tyler Sheppard finished tied for 17th shooting a 142 overall.
Texas Wesleyan standout Zach Monson won the individual tournament outright shooting an opening round score of 66 and second round score of 68.
The Wildcats are looking to have a promising season this year. Alex Carpenter won the Southern Amateur Championship this summer, and both Carpenter and Tyler Sheppard qualified and competed in the U.S. Amateur Championship. Sheppard advanced to the knockout round in the tournament before being knocked out in the round of 32. The Wildcats are also returning the individual Division II National Champion from last year in Bouniol.
The Wildcats will travel to Cameron to compete in the Cameron University Invitational, Sept. 27 – Sept. 28.
