Thomas Buisson led the Wildcats with an even-par, second-place finish at the Military City Collegiate tournament hosted by UT San Antonio. The men’s golf team finished fourth out of 12 as a team.

Buisson, senior from Bordeaux, France, carded his first two rounds at one-under par before ending his third round 2-over par. Buisson finished just one stroke behind UTSA’s Joshua Hong, who entered the final round 3-under par and also carded an even-par performance in round three.

“He’s just really disciplined in his approach,” Head Coach Tom Shaw said. “He handles the ups and downs of the round well; he’s just very committed and resilient. He’s a pleasure to watch because he’ll make a mistake or two, but he always rebounds and finishes strong.”

The senior Frenchman showcased his ability to rebound during round two. On his 17th hole of the round, he carded his first double-bogey of the tournament before ending the round with an eagle. Buisson ended the week 4-under par on Par 5 holes, including the eagle on Hole 15 during his second round.

“I hit a great drive,” Buisson said. “I was coming off a double bogey, and I was angry, but I was able to breathe a little bit after that. I hit a great drive, and then I had 280 yards with my 3-wood. I stuck it to five feet and made a great putt for eagle.”

Jack Hollingsed, sophomore from Dallas, and Colin Leonard, sophomore from San Angelo, tied for a 26th-place finish, each carding 10-over par tournaments as the Wildcats next-highest finishers.

Leonard also carded an eagle in his three rounds, finding the hole in three strokes on hole number 12 during his second round. The 532-yard eagle pushed him to 1-under par at that point in his round. He would end the round 2-under and move to even par through 36 holes.

“We don’t look at the standings too much,” Shaw said. “We know there’s a lot of work to be done, and sometimes the leaderboard can cause you to make some decisions that you wouldn’t normally make. We felt good. Then the wind came up in the last round and affected everybody, every team.”

Gregoire Hoyeau, senior from Paris, France, finished 45th for the team, while Tres Hill, graduate from Elk City, Oklahoma, and Preston DeFriend, junior from Lubbock, competed for the ‘Cats but did not have their scores taken.

“I think we had a good week of practice,” Shaw said. “The course fit a lot of these guys well, and I think being able to drive to a tournament is better than flying to one. We hope to return to that tournament in the future because I think our team plays well there.”

The final day of competition was disrupted by wind, making the course conditions rough. Despite the frustration and issues caused by the wind, Shaw said it’s something that will serve as a lesson and prepare the team moving forward.

“It was a really tough day to play, and we could have handled some things better,” Shaw said. “All in all, I think going into the week, fourth place would have been pretty good. It’s just a little bit tougher when you know you had a chance going into the last round.”

Buisson was named University Credit Union Western Athletic Conference Co-Golfer of the Week after his second-place finish. Buisson received the University Credit Union WAC Co-Golfer of the Month in November after a career-best 14th place 2-under par at the Florida Atlantic Invitational.

The Wildcats’ next tournament will be March 2-3 at the Golden Nugget Invitational hosted by Lamar University and The Country Club at the Golden Nugget in Lake Charles, Louisiana.