Rogers State places four in top 11 at Heartland Conference Championship, team would have won if eligible
HORSESHOE BAY, Texas – The Rogers State men’s golf team closed out its best tournament performance of the season as its placed four in the top 11 at the 2015 Heartland Conference Championship Tuesday at Slick Rock Golf Course at Horseshoe Bay Resort.
The Hillcats continued to turn heads playing at the event for the first time since joining the league with their dominating performance from tee to green. No other team at the championship had more than two players inside the top 10, and as a team, RSU played the par fives at a combined 18-under-par with two eagles.
Hagen Barmasse and Ryan Roberts were named to the Heartland Conference All-Tournament Team by placing tied for third place overall with a three-round score of 213. Barmasse bounced back for a 1-under-par final round of 71 carding three birdies, including two on the final seven holes.
Roberts came into the final round in second place and only dropped one spot on the leaderboard despite his score jumping to a 2-over-par 74 Tuesday. The sophomore raced out to a 2-under-par mark through seven holes alternating birdies and pars for a 34 on the front nine but fired a 40 on the back side. Both Barmasse and Roberts earned a spot on the Heartland Conference All-Tournament Team for their finish.
Just one shot behind but still inside the top 10 was Henning Hogmoen, who led the Hillcats with 12 birdies for the tournament, tying for fifth in the field. The sophomore placed sixth overall tallying two birdies in round three, both coming on the front nine, recording a 1-over-par 73 to close the tournament.
Playing his final round at RSU, senior Tanner Alder narrowly missed a top-10 result tying for 11th following an even-par round of 72. He provided the highlight of the day chipping in from 43 yards out for an eagle on the par-five third. Stuck behind a tree, Alder lofted a 58-degree wedge short of the hole and watched it trace the contours of the green to find the bottom of the cup. He added a birdie on the fourth hole to make the turn at 2-under-par turning in a 38 on the back side.
Celebrating his birthday Tuesday, Alex Marsh shot even par posting a 72 in the finale overcoming bogeys on his first three holes with a stretch of birdies on four of 10 holes to get back on track. The freshman finished in a tie for 23rd behind a three-day total of 221.
Led by individual champion Garrett Fey’s score of 9-under-par, Dallas Baptist had two of the top three finishers to hold off St. Edward’s for the conference title by five shots at 860 to earn the conference’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Regional.
Jared Consoli’s final collegiate round was one to remember.
The senior from Brisbane, Australia -a member of Oklahoma Christian’s men’s golf team since 2011 – fired a season-best 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday at Slick Rock Golf Course, good enough to lift him into a tie for sixth at the end of the Heartland Conference Championship.
Consoli finished the three-day event at 2-under 214, seven shots behind the individual champion, Garrett Fey of Dallas Baptist (Texas). By jumping eight spots in the 50-man field, Consoli became the Eagles’ top finisher in the Heartland tournament debut.
OC junior Sam Johnston entered the day in fourth, but a 78 on the 6,769-yard course dropped him into a tie for 15th at 218. But his teammates picked him up. Besides Consoli, senior Trey Payne also had a strong final career round, a 2-under 70 that put him at 221, tied for 23rd.
Freshman Zac Schaefer was 4-under at one point and finished with an even-par 72, putting him at 228, tied for 32nd. Another freshman, Chase Esparza, posted his best round of the three-day event, a 76 that gave him a 237 score, tied for 41st.
Because of a conference decision, the three Heartland schools still in the NCAA Division II membership process – OC, Rogers State and Lubbock Christian (Texas) – weren’t allowed to compete for a team title in 2015. If they had been, Rogers State would have won the tournament with an 854 and OC would have been sixth at 879, after a final-day 287 (1-under).
Dallas Baptist was named as the official team champion with an 860 score, five shots better than St. Edward’s (Texas).
Unoffical results:
* Rogers State 277-289-288 – 854
Dallas Baptist 286-288-286 – 860
St. Edward’s 293-285-287 – 865
Newman 293-288-285 – 866
St. Mary’s 287-294-290 – 871
* Oklahoma Christian 297-295-287 – 879
* Lubbock Christian 296-297-292 – 885
Arkansas-Fort Smith 298-293-299 – 890
Texas A&M International 302-316-312 – 930
Oklahoma Panhandle State 345-337-339 – 1021
2015 Heartland Conference All-Tournament Team
Garrett Fey – DBU – Individual Medalist
James Bolton – NU
Hagen Barmasse – RSU
Ryan Roberts – RSU
Josh Aguilar – DBU