Oct. 4, 2011
Final Results
CHOUDRANT - Following the final round of the 2011 Squire Creek Invitational Tuesday, Louisiana Tech head coach Jeff Parks didn't have the look of a coach who had just watched his team beat 11 of the 12 teams it faced during two days of competition.
Instead, Parks looked disappointed. The third-year head coach's mindset shows the positive steps that the Bulldog golf program has taken over the past decade as gone are the days of moral victories and runner-up celebrations.
"I was expecting to win," Parks said. "I'm a little disappointed that we didn't win. Second place to me feels a little like we kissed our sister to be honest. We still beat 11 teams so I'm happy with the fact we played well enough to beat some good teams; some teams that according to the rankings we are not supposed to beat. I wanted to win it; the guys wanted to win it. We had every intention of defending our title, but we just didn't do what we set out to do."
The Bulldogs did play well for much of the 54-hole event. Well enough to finish second - a full 13 strokes ahead of third place Southeastern Louisiana - but eight strokes behind this year's champion Southern Mississippi.
"Southern Miss played extremely well, and they deserved to win," Parks said. "I tip my cap to them. We didn't give it to them; they took it. They had four guys shoot par or better today and that's how you win. They had lots of putts going in; they made lots of eagles and birdies. We didn't play good, we didn't play bad. We just didn't play great and you have to play great to win."
Trailing USM by three strokes heading into Tuesday's final round, Tech knew it had its work cut out for it if it wanted to capture the event for the second straight year. USM had other plans.
The Eagles capitalized on the par 5s as the combination of Zach Estep and Derek Plucienski proved too much for the Bulldogs. Behind Plucienski's three-under-par 69, Estep's one-under-par 71 and a pair of even par 72s by Casey Fernandez and Kevin Brady, USM pulled away shooting a four-under-par 284 while the Bulldogs shot one-over-par 289.
"Sam (Forgan) and Cody (Santone) finished seventh so a couple of top 10 finishes," Parks said. "Neither one of them had the round today that they wanted. If either one of them plays their normal game, they probably finish in top three. "Cody Blankenship shot even par for the tournament. For him to even play in this tournament (after breaking his arm last January) is amazing and to compete at the level he did is impressive. I think everyone had moments of glory and moments of darkness."
Forgan (72-67-76=215) and Santone (71-70-74=216) tied for seventh among 75 golfers while Jonathan Bale (76-73-71-220) also recorded a top 20 showing. Bale and Travis Wilmore (72-81-71=224, T32nd) both shot the best rounds of the day among the Bulldogs five team competitors with 71s.
Jack Lempke (77-72-73=222, T25th) was impressive as well, recording four straight birdies at one point midway through the third round.
Blankenship (73-71-72=216), who broke his arm snow skiing back in January, played in his first collegiate event since the accident and played three solid rounds. Patrick Blunt (71-73-77=221, T19th), Hayden Stephens (76-79-73=228, T45th) and Chandler Vilcheck (77-76-80=233) rounded out the Bulldogs competing as individuals.
"There is no difference (in the fall or the spring)," Parks said. "It's all one season. It's our season. The fall might be more important because from what I can tell, it sets you up in the rankings. In the spring, you might move up or down a little but unless you get extremely hot and go on a winning streak, you are pretty much set. It hurts not to win in the fall when we need to be. We are in tough tournaments. Our competition has gotten stronger and harder. The way we performed is good, but we expect to win."
Southeastern Louisiana (875) finished third followed by Sam Houston State (882), Jacksonville State (884), Nicholls State (892), Central Arkansas (896), McNeese State (900), Stephen F. Austin (901), UMKC (903), Troy (911), Rice (915) and Jackson State (917).
Sam Houston State's Scott Kelly won the individual competition with a three-round total of eight-under-par 208, which included an opening round of 66.
The Bulldogs return to action in two weeks when they travel to Shreveport to compete in the LSU-hosted David Toms Intercollegiate.
"I feel like we are at where I thought we would be," Parks said. "We just didn't get it done this week. The guys have played really well in qualifying. It's been nonstop since school started. Playing in these tournaments is the best practice though. It tells you what you are doing right or wrong. If you play and you play well, you are doing something right. To finish second is not really what we wanted but I think we are in pretty good shape heading into the LSU Tournament in two weeks. It's the biggest one we have in the fall; one of the best fields we will have all year. It's a big, big event for us."
