Photo - WKU Athletics
Four Western Kentucky Hilltopper golfers fired their best round of the 2018 Conference USA Championship on Tuesday, completing the day with a 2-over 290 team total. The Hilltoppers improved by 10 strokes from their second round and finished ninth as a team with an 894 (304-300-290) tally. The top four teams will decide the team champion in match play.
WKU’s final-round 290 was its best team score in a conference tournament since 2008.
Individually, redshirt junior Billy Tom Sargent continued to find his groove and ended the tournament with a 2-under 70. He tied for 11th overall with a 219 (75-74-70) total. Just as he did last year, when he tied for 12th in the C-USA Championship, Sargent’s 11th-place finish is the best by a Hilltopper in a conference tournament since 2010. Alex Yost tied for sixth in that year’s Sun Belt Conference Championship.
Sargent notched five birdies in Tuesday’s final round of stroke play, including two of his first three holes and two of his last three holes. His 219 score is the best by a WKU golfer in a conference tournament since Cameron Beal also shot 219 at the 2014 Sun Belt tournament.
Junior Stuart Easton followed Sargent in a tie for 21st, shooting an even-par 72 on Tuesday to finish with a 222 total. Redshirt sophomore Linus Lo and sophomore Tom Bevington each shot 2-over 74s in the round – their best efforts of the tournament – and tied for 31st and 36th, respectively. Freshman Crimson Callahan placed 58th at 238.
WKU recorded five top-five performances as a team this season with two 6-under outings that produced 858 totals. The program also had 21 top-25 individual results, 11 top-10s and six top-fives, including a win by Sargent at the Border Olympics.
The Hilltoppers will return their entire competing five from this year’s C-USA Championship next season and graduate one senior, Bryant Evans.
(Courtesy WKU Athletics)
