April 12, 2011

Final Results

Forgan Talks After Second Round

Shepard Talks After Second Round

VICTORIA, Texas - Clinton Shepard shot a final round 68 and all five Louisiana Tech golfers finished in the Top 20 as the Bulldogs easily outdistanced the competition to win the 2011 Jim West Intercollegiate hosted by Texas State at the Victoria Country Club.

Tech held a slim two-shot lead over Southeastern Louisiana heading into Tuesday's final round but responded with a team-low of the day at one-under-par 287 to pull away for its second tournament victory of the season.

The Bulldogs three-round total of one-under-par 863 captured the event, easily outdistancing Southeastern Louisiana (871), Texas-Arlington (878), UL-Lafayette (888), Texas State (893), College of Charleston (894), South Alabama (895), Sam Houston State (897), Stephen F. Austin (898), UTSA (914), Houston (919), CSU Fullerton (921), McNeese State (923), Houston Baptist (928) and Houston Victoria (929).

"The wind made the golf course tough the first two days and the scores were high," said Tech head coach Jeff Parks. "A lot of top 100 teams struggled. I'm just really excited about how we played and how we managed the wind this week. Today was a pressure cooker.

"We played in foursomes right alongside Southeastern Louisiana who we only had a two shot lead against. Our guys stepped up and took care of business. Five guys in the top 20 is how you win tournaments."

Tech led the event from the opening hole on Sunday when the Bulldogs used three birdies and two eagles from its five competitors to shoot seven-under-par, vaulting out to a big lead. However, the winds picked up and according to Parks his team gave some shots back to the field yet never allowed anyone to catch them.

"This just shows you how fickle this game is," Parks said. "Last week at Ole Miss, South Alabama beat us by 13 strokes. This week we beat them by 31. It just shows you what we are capable of when we are playing well. There were some strong teams in this field and Southeastern gave us a run for our money. Everyone else we were able to pull away from."

Shepard paced Tech shooting a three-round total of three-under-par 213 to finish in third place as the lone senior on the Bulldogs squad used a stretch during the middle part of his round Tuesday to help the Tech get some separation from the Lions.

Shepard went birdie, birdie, birdie, par, eagle during the five-hole stretch as he went from one over on the round to four-under. He finished the final five holes with two more birdies, two bogeys and a par and his 68 tied for the lowest round of the day with Sam Houston State's James Glenn.

"Clinton had a phenomenal round today," Parks said. "In the middle part of his round, he went on an incredible stretch that really was impressive. Everybody for us played well and made birdies and pars. It was well done and that is what I've been expecting from them."

Jonathan Bale and Cody Santone both shot even par 72s during Tuesday's final round. Santone started the day strong, birdying four of the first five holes and shot a three-under-par 33 on the front nine before three bogeys on the back nine brought him back to even par for the day. He finished tied for seventh with a three-round total of three-over-par 219.

After shooting a 76 on Monday, Bale bounced back Tuesday using two birdies over the final four holes to get to even par for the day. Bale, who had three birdies, three bogeys and 12 pars during the round, finished the event five-over-par (221) and tied for 13th.

Freshman Jack Lempke had an up and down day with three birdies, four bogeys and one double bogey but grinded it out for a three-over-par 75. He shot one-under-par during the final six holes and tied for 19th at the event with a seven-over-par 223.

Sam Forgan had his only tough round of the event Tuesday with a 78. Forgan recorded 11 birdies and one eagle during the first two rounds of the event and sat at six-under-par and tied for the lead heading into the final 18 holes. However, Tuesday was unkind as he had three bogeys and two double bogeys with his lone birdie coming on final hole of the day.

Despite Forgan's struggles Tuesday, the sophomore still finished the event alone in sixth place with a three-round total of even par 216.

Southeastern Louisiana's Philipp Westermann won the event with a seven-under-par 209.

Tech will continue practicing for the 2011 WAC Championships which will be held May 2-4 in Henderson, Nevada.

"It is huge momentum for us going into the conference championship," Parks said. "This was a win against a solid field on a good golf course in tough conditions. We are peaking at the right time."