HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Henderson State’s men’s golf team became the first Great American Conference program, in any sport, to win five consecutive tournament titles as the Reddies claimed a 12-shot victory on Tuesday on the Arlington Course at the Hot Springs Country Club.
While the race for the team trophy lacked late drama, the final shot of the tournament from Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Zach James resulted in an eagle and turned a one-shot deficit into a one-shot win for the GAC Player of the Year. Harding’s Mason Banger had moved into the first position after he shot a 4-under par 68. Twice he made three straight birdies, including on holes 16, 17 and 18. Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Kason Cook and Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Cole shared third place while the Reddies’ Trey DePriest, who led after each of the first two rounds, took fifth to fill out the All-Tournament team.
All four of the scoring Reddies turned in rounds between 70, by Kevin Boutier, and 74, by Cameron McRae. They posted a 1-over 289 as a squad to finish the week 1-under par, the fourth-best team total in GAC history. All five placed inside the top 16. Nick Shapiro took sixth; McRae tied for 10
th; Mitchell Ford placed 13
th and Boutier jumped up 12 spots into a tie for 16
th.
Arkansas Tech held off a charging Southeastern Oklahoma State to finish as the runner up. Austin Gean tied for sixth with Shapiro. The Savage Storm posted the low round on Tuesday, a 4-under 284. In addition to James’ 5-under 67, Jordan Holifield broke par with a 1-under 71.
For the third-straight day, SWOSU finished tied for fourth. Harding moved up from seventh to tie the Bulldogs. Gustavo Tineo led SWOSU with a 3-under 69. He registered the biggest improvement from Monday. He started the final round tied for 33
rd and finished in a four-way tie for 18
th. Cook posted his second subpar round of the tournament, with a 1-under 71. Gregor Weck produced an even par round.
Led by Banger’s 68, the Bisons improved for the second-straight day. After opening the tournament by shooting a 304, they tallied a 294 on Monday and wrapped up with a 2-under 286. Juan Luis Sanchez again broke par as he shot his second-straight 1-under 71.
Oklahoma Baptist placed sixth, three shots ahead of Northwestern Oklahoma State. Dalton Rhoden completed the tournament as the low Bison, tying for 13
th. Davis Farnell shot the low round of the day for Oklahoma Baptist, a 2-under 70. Tyler Berryhill posted the low score for the Rangers, a 2-under 70 to join Ward inside the top 10.
Southern Arkansas, Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Nazarene rounded out the team standings. Kade Johnson led SAU by shooting a 3-under 69 to move up to 10
th. Kinley Lee shot a 70 for the Weevils. He joined Johnson and McRae in 10
th. The Crimson Storm’s Rhett Bechtel also shot a 70 to move up five positions and tie for eighth with Berryhill.
The Reddies earned an automatic bid the NCAA Central/Midwest Regional. Arkansas Tech, Southeastern Oklahoma State, Harding and SWOSU all entered the GAC Championships ranked inside the top 10. The NCAA will announce the team and individual participants on Friday.