Monday, April 23
McKinney, Texas (Stonebridge Ranch C.C.)
All Day
Stephen F. Austin
at
Southland Conference Championship
2018 Southland Conference Men’s Golf Championship awaits ‘Jacks this Week
4/22/2018 12:48:00 PM | Men's Golf
SFA men’s golf seeks first Southland championship since 1999, takes on Dye Course at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney, Texas, Monday-Wednesday, April 23-25
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After a three-week break from competition, the Stephen F. Austin men's golf team will head to McKinney, Texas, for the 2018 Southland Conference Men's Golf Championship held Monday-Wednesday, April 23-25 at the Stonebridge Ranch Country Club. A year removed from taking home runner-up honors, the Lumberjacks are in search of their fourth Southland championship and first since 1999.
The three-day, 54-hole championship will be played on the par-72, 7,219-yard Dye Course as teams will tee off for Monday's opening round beginning at 7:30 a.m. Each day of play will feature 7:30 a.m. tee times off of hole 1. With seeding determined by each team's Golfstat.com conference ranking, SFA will be the No. 3 seed in the 11-team championship field.
Sam Houston State has earned the top seed for the championship, while two-time defending Southland title holder McNeese is the No. 2 seed. Abilene Christian will compete as the No. 4 seed, followed by fifth-seeded Central Arkansas, No. 6 seed Houston Baptist, seventh-seeded Lamar, No. 8 seed Southeastern Louisiana, ninth-seeded Nicholls, No. 10 seed Incarnate Word and 11th-seeded New Orleans.
The 'Jacks are paired with second-seeded McNeese and the top-seeded Bearkats for Monday's first 18 holes of play, gaining the 9:45 a.m. tee time. Freshman Steven Fabik will tee off first right at 9:45 a.m., followed by senior Blake Stock at 9:54 a.m., junior Jake Hendrix at 10:03 a.m., freshman Andy Lopez at 10:12 a.m. and junior Angelo Leyvani rounding out SFA's competing five at 10:21 a.m.
McNeese claimed both the 2017 and 2016 Southland championships after Sam Houston State took top honors in 2015 and 2014. Southeastern Louisiana was the 2013 Southland champion. The Cowboys shot a three-day total of 54-over 918 to finish ahead of the 'Jacks by a mere four strokes (58-over 922) in last year's championship. Albert Badosa-Soler of Nicholls outlasted Val Almendarez of HBU in a lengthy playoff to claim the 2017 individual crown after each shot a three-round score 9-over 225.
SFA had three players post top-20 finishes in last season's championship as Stock tied for third to lead the 'Jacks with a final tally of 11-over 227, just two strokes off of the lead. Leyvani earned a tie for 20th after carding a three-day total of 20-over 236. The second-place team finish represent the highest placement for SFA at the conference championship since claiming the Southland title in 1999. The 'Jacks placed fifth at the 2016 Southland championship, finished seventh in 2015, tied for third in 2014 and were fourth among eight teams in 2013.
Through nine tournaments during the 2017-18 season and dating back to September, SFA has notched four top-five finishes and a total of five top-six placements. The 'Jacks began their 2017-18 campaign with, perhaps, their best tournament of the season. SFA shot a season-low 8-under 856 on a par-72 course at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19) in Ruston, Louisiana, earning a runner-up finish among 14 total teams. After a third-place finish at the Little Rock Intercollegiate (Oct. 23-24) in the fall, the 'Jacks have placed third out of 11 teams in both of their most recent tournaments. At the Lake Charles Invitational (March 26-27) SFA shot its second-lowest score of the season, carding a 6-over 870 before beginning the month of April with a 17-over 881 score at the Bearkat Invitational (April 2-3).
Hendrix has really come on strong as of late, posting two top-20 finishes in the Lumberjacks' last two tournaments. At the Bearkat Invitational in Montgomery, Texas, Hendrix recorded his first career top-five placement as he tied for third with a three-round tally at even-par 216, including a career-low 5-under 67 in the final round. In 18 rounds of golf played this season, Hendrix has averaged a score of 74.
Both Leyvani and Lopez have been SFA's most consistent golfers all season, the two combining for nine of the Lumberjacks' 16 total top-20 individual finishes. Leyvani owns a 74.07 scoring average through 27 rounds of golf, while Lopez is averaging a 74.33. With two top-10 finishes and another pair of top-20 placements in 2017-18, Leyvani was the individual runner-up at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate back in September where he shot a career-best 7-under 209, including a career-low 6-under 66 in the second round. Lopez owns a total of five top-20 finishes this season, including three top-10 showings. The freshman is the reigning Southland Men's Golfer of the Month after averaging a score of 72.33 in March and posting two top-15 finishes. Lopez tied for seventh at both the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate and the Lake Charles Invitational with identical career-best scores of 3-under 213. He also shot an even-par 216 at the Little Rock Intercollegiate for his first career top-five placement, tying for fourth and recording a career-low 4-under 68 in the opening round.
The winner of the championship will gain the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, held first at regional sites Monday-Wednesday, May 14-16. The selection show for the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship will take place Wednesday, May 2, and will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel, available nationwide.
Live scoring of the 2018 Southland Men's Golf Championship will be available at Golfstat.com.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Lumberjack golf throughout the spring.
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