Oct. 14, 2008
Final Results
RUSTON -- Louisiana Tech junior Matthew Harvey had been slow to recover from major surgery in May but on Tuesday in the final round of the 2008 Squire Creek Invitational, the Bulldog golfer showed he is back in the form that earned him first team all-Western Athletic Conference honors last year.
Harvey, the defending individual champion from the event, fired a final round 67 in an effort to defend his title but came up one stroke short as Nevada's Taylor Coffman edged him for top honors.
Coffman, who was the WAC Player of the Year two seasons ago, shot a six-under-par 66 to finish with a three-round total of 207, one stroke better than the 208 of Harvey and Mississippi's Joe David.
"He made quite a run," said Tech head coach Jean Hall. "He got to four under par and then bogeyed back to back holes. He then ran three more birdies off and had an outstanding round. It took a 66 (by Coffman) to beat him. I was really proud of Matthew.
"He shot an 8-under-par as an individual which was better than the score he won the event with last year."
The individual competition wasn't the only great race as it came down to a two-team one-hole playoff to determine the team champion as New Orleans and LSU ended the three rounds tied at 853. However, UNO won the playoff on the first hole and was crowed the Squire Creek Invitational champions.
"It was a tremendously exciting tournament," Hall said. "It was highly, highly competitive from the top to the bottom. It was the best field we've ever had and the scores proved it. People who saw these guys play were in for a real treat."
The order of finish for the team competition was UNO (853), LSU (853), Mississippi (856), Louisville (859), UL-Lafayette (862), Nevada (862), Southern Miss (863), Middle Tennessee (864), Southeastern Louisiana (866), Arkansas State (874), UALR (874), LA Tech (875), UT-Arlington (879), Nebraska (882), South Alabama (889) and UL-Monroe (906).
In addition to Harvey's strong round for Tech, teammate Corey Bartlett fired a final round even par 72 to finish tied for 30th. Other Bulldog competitors included Amrith de Soysa (T62nd), Cody Santone (T74th) and Clinton Shepard (85th). Santone shot a final round 74 for Tech.
Also competing as individuals in the tournament were Tech golfers Ben Suarez (T57th), Timothy Byrd (T62nd), Patrick Blunt (T78th), Jonathan Bale (T78th) and Ryan Robertson (86th).
Hall said he was extremely pleased with the overall success of the tournament.
"I appreciate all of the teams who came here to compete as well as the support from the community," said Hall, who noted Debbie Rivers served as the honorary captain for the event. Rivers recently endowed a scholarship to the Bulldog golf program.
