Arkansas Tech rallies to win GAC men’s golf championship
GAC Communications
HOT SPRINGS – Arkansas Tech won the second Great American Conference Men’s Golf Championship title in program history as the Wonder Boys shot an even-par 288 for the third-straight round to edge five-time GAC champion Henderson State by three shots on Tuesday from Hot Springs Country Club. Wonder Boy freshman Andre Jacobs earned the medalist honors with three-round total of 4-under par 212.
Trailing the Reddies by a shot after Monday’s 36-hole marathon, all five Wonder Boys turned in rounds of 75 or better. After opening his final round with back-to-back bogeys, Jacobs birdied four of his final 11 holes, including one on the par-5 18th hole to win the individual title by one shot, besting Henderson State’s Trey DePriest.
Jacobs’ brother, Francois, registered Tech’s low round of the day, a 2-under 70 that featured six birdies to move him up to third place. Kellen Gray posted an even-par round and Austin Gean shot a 1-over 73.
DePriest paced the Reddies to a second-place showing. He posted the best par 4 scoring of the event, 3.90, and his 13 birdies ranked second for the week. Kevin Boutier finished in a tie for seventh; Cameron McRae shared 10th and Nick Shapiro moved up 12 spots thanks to a final-round 2-under 70.
Southwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene maintained their third- and fourth-place standings. SWOSU’s Kason Cook finished tied for seventh while Heston Brown shot the low round of the day for the Bulldogs, a 2-over 74. JD Pitts posted the low round for the Crimson Storm, a 1-over 74, to tie for 13th.
Harding moved up from eighth to fifth as its team score of 4-over 292 matched Henderson State for the second-best tally of the day. GAC Freshman of the Year Ryan Camras and Trevor Mellott recorded matching 1-under 71s as they both tied for fifth place to earn All-Tournament honors.
Southern Arkansas, Southeastern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma Baptist, Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State rounded out the team standings. The Savage Storm’s Zach James, the two-time GAC Player of the Year, finished in fourth to land on the All-Tournament Team for the third time in his career.
The Wonder Boys earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Midwest/Central Regional. They will return to Hot Springs Country Club for Regional play, which takes place from May 9-11. The NCAA will announce the full field at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 26. Henderson State, Southern Arkansas, Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southwestern Oklahoma State have all appeared in both of the previous region rankings.