Feb. 21, 2012
Final Results
HOUSTON - Louisiana Tech shot a final round team total of five-over-par 293 Tuesday to fall two spots and finish sixth in the 15-team Rice Intercollegiate held at Westwood Golf Club and hosted by the Owls.
The Bulldogs headed into Tuesday's final 18 holes tied for fourth and in a position to make a move over the final round, but according to head coach Jeff Parks, his team was never able to get it going.
"We put ourselves in position Monday to have a shot if we had come out today and played well," Parks said. "We just never got it going. I'm not totally disappointed as we were able to beat some good teams, including (defending WAC champion) New Mexico State.
"However, we have to get better. We have to learn how to prevent the one or two holes each round that seem to take us out of contention. Once we do that, we will have a chance to win every weekend."
Sam Forgan and Travis Wilmore led the Bulldogs Tuesday. Forgan shot a one-under-par 71 to finish tied for 10th with a three-round total of one-over-par 217. Wilmore shot an even par 72 and finished tied for 32nd with a total of 222.
After firing back-to-back rounds of even par 72 on Monday, Cody Blankenship shot a three-over-par 75 on Tuesday and finished tied for 19th.
Jonathan Bale (77-72-75=224) and Jack Lempke (71-76-77=224) both finished tied for 46th out of 81 competitors in the event. Freshman Chandler Vilcheck, playing as an individual in the event, shot a three-round total of 234 to finish 71st.
Northwestern won the team title at the event, shooting a three-round total of two-under-par 862 to edge second place Houston by four strokes. Florida Gulf Coast (872) finished third followed by Wichita State (874), UTSA (875), LA Tech (876), UL-Monroe (879), Texas State (884), Kansas State (885), New Mexico State (887), Winthrop (891), Missouri State (891), Houston Baptist (897), Air Force (900) and Rice (907).
New Mexico State's Zachery Fullerton won the individual competition with a three-round total of six-under-par 210.
The Bulldogs return to action March 11-13 when they host the Argent Financial Classic at Squire Creek Country Club. As part of the event, Tech will host the Argent Financial Classic College-AM on Saturday, March 10 starting at noon. The two-man best ball event is a fundraiser for the Bulldog Golf program and cost is $200 per player. The entry fee includes cart, green fees, tee gift, prizes and dinner at Squire Creek following the event.
Each two-man team will be paired with a college player and the event is limited to the first 40 teams. Anyone interested in playing in the event can call Jeff Park at 318-245-8211 or can email jeffparks@latech.edu.
