April 5, 2006

ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Hardin-Simmons' men's golf team finished in a tie for ninth place in the two-day, three-round West Region Invitational in Round Rock on March 3-4. The Cowboys had a composite score of 922 with rounds of 309-306-307 on the par-72, 7,039-yard Teravista Golf Course.

The West Regional which was hosted by Southwestern this year, is a 15-team event that is highly competitive, having the best teams in the region playing in it.

McMurry held a five-shot advantage after the first 36 holes and went on to win by nine shots over runner-up Claremont McKenna, a team out of California. McMurry had rounds of 300-291-294 to have a three-round total of 885. Claremont McKenna fired a 292 in the third round but was not good enough as they finished at 894.

Two other California teams finished third and fourth. California Lutheran came back after a 303-303 in the first day to post up a 291 on the final day to finish at third with a 897. University of Redlands, was five shots behind tournament-leader McMurry after the first day but struggled to a 305 in the last round to finish in fourth with a total of 899. Fellow ASC foe Texas Lutheran rounded out the top five with three rounds of 303-306-300 to finish at 909.

Paul Schaub led the Cowboy attack as he finished in a tie for 16th place with rounds of 73-78-75 a three-round total of 226. That was two-strokes better than teammate Davey Davis who led the Cowboys in the final round with a 74. Davis's three rounds of 78-76-74 228 earned him a tie for 24th place.

Junior J.C. Eagle, who is one of the most consistent players for the Cowboys, had three rounds in the 70's as he shot 79-77-78 and a composite score of 234. Michael Weehunt put together three rounds of 79-75-84 for a 238. Weehunt's second round of 75 led the Cowboys tournament low round of 306. Junior Travis Brown had three consistent rounds of 81-80-80 to finish at 241.

The Cowboys are off until they play in the American Southwest Conference Tournament, which will be hosted by UT-Tyler this year. The two-day 54-hole tournament will be played on April 24, 25.

Top Five Team Scores 1 McMurry 300-291-294 885 2 Claremont McKenna 300-302-292 894 3 California Lutheran 303-303-291 897 4 University of Redlands 299-295-305 899 5 Texas Lutheran 303-306-300 909

Top Ten Individual Scores 1 Rode McElreath, McMurry 72-70-73 215 2 Luke Redfern, Claremont McKenna 72-75-71 218 3 Westy Rose, Claremont McKenna 74-73-72 219 4 Larry Courtney, McMurry 74-74-72 220 T5 Nick Obie, Redlands 73-76-72 221 T5 Patrick Palmer, LeTourneau 70-75-76 221 7 A.J. Vesey, TX Lutheran 70-77-75 222 T8 Brian Stanley, CA Lutheran 78-73-72 223 T8 Joshua Mecouch, Pomona-Pitzer 72-76-75 T10 Christian Colunga, CA Lutheran 75-77-72 224 T10 R.J. Scholl, Redlands 76-71-77 224 T10 Chris Moreno-Hart, Pomona-Pitzer 71-76-77 224 T10 Adam Braaten, TX Lutheran 78-74-72