Sept. 20, 2011
Final Results
FT. WORTH - Louisiana Tech and the rest of the 18-team field at the 2011 UTA Waterchase Invitational ran into an opponent that it couldn't beat Tuesday morning during the final round of the 54-hole event at Waterchase Golf Club.
Bees ... more than 7,000 of them according to a local beekeeper who was called onto the scene after a limb fell by 18th green early in the third round Tuesday morning, exposing a hive that was "the size of a football."
More than a dozen competitors were stung as play was suspended while the beekeeper was summonsed onto the scene. After an assessment, the decision was made to call off the remainder of the day's round.
"Luckily, our guys weren't around the hole, but I heard about 16 guys were stung," said Tech head coach Jeff Parks. "I talked to the Sam Houston State coach and he said in his 38 years, this is the first time he can ever remember anything like this."
The teams had played only a few holes on Tuesday morning when they were called off the course and the final results will be based on Monday's 36 holes of competition.
Tech finishes in fifth place out of the 18 teams after shooting a two-round team total of 589 on Monday as the Bulldogs were led by sophomore Travis Wilmore (70-74=144, T6th).
Jack Lempke (74-72=146, T17th), Cody Santone (6-72=148, T24th), Sam Forgan (77-74-151, T44th) and Jonathan Bale (81-75=156, T70th) round out the scoring for Louisiana Tech.
Wichita State (570) won the event followed by Sam Houston State (574), Arkansas State (584), UTA (584), LA Tech (589), UL-Monroe (594), Kansas State (595), Southern Illinois (602), UTSA (603), Texas Wesleyan (603), Mercer (603), Southern Miss (603), Central Arkansas (606), SFA (606), Houston Baptist (610), Nicholls State (622), McNeese State (631) and Texas Pan American (634).
Wichita State's Rafael Becker claimed the individual competition in large part to firing an eight-under-par 64 in the second round. He finished at five-under-par 139 through the first two rounds, winning by two strokes over Scott Kelly (141).
Tech returns to action Oct. 3 and 4 when they host the 2011 Squire Creek Invitational, a 12-team event featuring Rice, Southern Miss, Stephen F. Austin, Troy, Jacksonville State, Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas, McNeese State, Nicholls State, UMKC and Jackson State.
On Sunday, Oct. 2, Tech will hold its annual College-AM. The event will consists of a total of 20 four-person teams playing a scramble format at Squire Creek Golf Course. Each four-person team will be joined by an outstanding college golfer representing the 12 teams competing in the LA Tech Squire Creek Invitational.
Entry fee for the tournament is $200 per player and all proceeds from the tournament will go to support the Louisiana Tech golf program. Each participant in the tournament will receive a Louisiana Tech logoed polo golf shirt, dinner at Squire Creek following the event and a chance to play for flight prizes.
Anyone interested in playing in the event should contact Jeff Parks at 318-245-8211 or email jeffparks@latech.edu.
