March 4, 2014
HOOVER, Ala. -- Not letting the cold and windy conditions at the Hoover Country Club get in their way, the 16-team field at the Samford Intercollegiate completed play on Tuesday with WKU coming in ninth place, paced by a strong result in the third and final round.
After shooting 313 and 318 in the first two rounds, the Hilltoppers closed out the event with a seven-over 295 team score, the seventh-best round of the day, after getting sub-77 round scores for all five of its golfers.
"I am really proud of the way our guys went after it in that final round," said coach Phillip Hatchett from the event. "It was a great last round and we will use everything we learned to get better for our next tournament."
Nate Johnson led the Tops from start to finish and carded his second four-over 76 round of the event, finishing with a 13-over 229 (76-77-76) to tie for 22nd overall.
Trey Aguirre and Conor Griffiths both finished tied for 35th with Aguirre going 76-82-76 and Griffiths scratching 82-79-73, nearly tying his season-low in the final round.
Taylor Thompson did, however, tie his season-low in the third and final round, recording the best round of the event for WKU as he added a one-under 71 to finish tied for 43rd with a 236 (85-80-71). Andy Gladden rounded out the scoring, tying for 53rd overall, as he finished with a 239 (79-85-75).
The event was held at the par-72, 7,001 yard Hoover Country Club. South Alabama won the event, shooting 891 as a team, while UAB's Paul Dunne was the wire-to-wire leader, finishing five strokes ahead of the field with an even-par 216.
Next up for WKU is the Seminole Classic, hosted by Florida State, held March 14-16 in Tallahassee, Fla.
