BRYAN, Texas – Junior standout Zach Wright wrapped up his best finish of the 2014-15 season by tying for fifth place on Sunday’s leaderboard with a 54-hole score of 4-over par 220 to lead the No. 6-ranked Tigers to a fourth-place finish in their regular-season finale at Texas A&M’s Aggie Invitational held this weekend at Traditions Golf Club.
After opening the championship with scores of 3-under 69 in the first round and 4-over 76 in the second round on Saturday, Wright finished off the weekend with a 3-over 75 on Sunday to climb two places into a tie for fifth-place on the final individual leaderboard for the best finish of his junior season while earning his second top-10 finish on the campaign.
Wright eclipsed his previous best finish of the 2014-15 season when he tied for 10th place overall at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate held back on March 1-3 for his first top-10 finish of the spring season.
While also receiving counting scores of even-par 72 by senior Stewart Jolly, 1-over 73 by sophomore Brandon Pierce and 4-over 76 by senior Ben Taylor in the final round, the Tigers posted a team score of 8-over 296 to move one spot up the team standings on the final day of the competition and finish alone in fourth place at 27-over par 891 in 54 holes in their final tournament of the regular season.
The No. 16-ranked Oklahoma Sooners outlasted the rest of the 13-team field over three rounds to take home this year’s team title by three shots over the No. 10-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders. Oklahoma earned the victory with a 54-hole score of 20-over par 884, including a 6-over 294 in the final round. Texas Tech posted the low team round of the day with an even-par 288 to take second place overall at 23-over par 887.
Rounding out the Top 5 of the final team standings were No. 32-ranked Arkansas in third place at 24-over 888 and No. 41-ranked Texas A&M in fifth place at 30-over 894 around LSU’s final team score of 27-over 891.
Wright was the only Tiger to crack the Top 20 of the final leaderboard over 54 holes at this year’s Aggie Invitational as he was followed by sophomore teammate Eric Ricard in a tie for 21st place overall with his final score of 9-over par 225 for the championship. Ricard rounded out the event with a 5-over 77 on Sunday after opening with back-to-back rounds of 2-over 74 on Saturday.
Jolly and Pierce tied one another for 26th place on the final leaderboard with matching tournament scores of 10-over par 226, while Taylor followed in a tie for 32nd place overall at 13-over par 229.
California’s K.K. Limbhaust took home the individual crown with his winning score of 2-under par 214 for the weekend as he was the only player in the field to break par at this year’s Aggie Invitational. Arkansas’ Kolton Crawford matched Limbhaust’s effort in Sunday’s final round while carding his third-straight round of even-par 72 to follow two shots back in second place at even-par 216 for the weekend.
With the 2014-15 regular season now in the books, the Tigers will turn their attention to the championship season as they next head to St. Simons Island, Georgia, in two weeks for this year’s Southeastern Conference Men’s Golf Championships being held April 17-19 at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course. The Tigers were runners-up to the Alabama Crimson Tide at the SEC Championships a season ago when they fired an 18-under par 822 for 54 holes, including a 17-under par 263 in the final round at the Seaside Course.
AGGIE INVITATIONAL – FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 864)
1. Oklahoma 302-288-294 – 884 +20; 2. Texas Tech 308-291-288 – 887 +23; 3. Arkansas 298-293-297 – 888 +24; 4. LSU 297-298-296 – 891 +27; 5. Texas A&M 303-287-304 – 894 +30; 6. New Mexico State 301-289-311 – 901 +37; 7. California 307-297-302 – 906 +42; 8. North Texas 311-296-308 – 915 +51; 9. Michigan 318-302-299 – 919 +55; 10. Texas-San Antonio 315-300-311 – 926 +62; 11. Kent State 314-297-317 – 928 +64; 12. Bowling Green 312-326-301 – 939 +75; 13. Princeton 336-321-319 – 976 +112.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 216)
1. K.K. Limbhaust, California, 73-69-72 – 214 -2; 2. Kolton Crawford, Arkansas, 72-72-72 – 216 E; T3. Wes Artac, Texas Tech, 73-70-75 – 218 +2; T3. Ben Crancer, Texas A&M, 75-66-77 – 218 +2; T5. Zach Wright, LSU, 69-76-75 – 220 +4; T5. Pat Beyhan, New Mexico State, 72-70-78 – 220 +4; T7. Hannes Ronneblad, Texas Tech, 77-74-70 – 221 +5; T7. Esteban Restrepo, Texas Tech, 74-76-71 – 221 +5; T7. Grant Hirschman, Oklahoma, 78-71-72 – 221 +5; T10. Jake Goodman, Texas A&M, 77-74-71 – 222 +6; T10. Clement Sordet, Texas Tech, 77-71-74 – 222 +6; T10. Michael Gellerman, Oklahoma, 74-68-80 – 222 +6.
LSU SCORES
T5. Zach Wright, 69-76-75 – 220 +4
T21. Eric Ricard, 74-74-77 – 225 +9
T26. Stewart Jolly, 79-75-72 – 226 +10
T26. Brandon Pierce, 75-78-73 – 226 +10
T32. Ben Taylor, 80-73-76 – 229 +13