University Star

The Texas State men’s golf team shot its third-lowest score in program history, placing eighth at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate hosted by New Mexico State.

The Bobcats finished with an 861 final team score, two shots behind future opponents and Western Athletic Conference members Idaho and San Jose State. Those two teams tied for sixth place.

Texas State finished 14 shots behind New Mexico State, the four-time WAC conference champion, which finished third overall. 

Bobcats Coach Shane Howell said the tournament allowed Texas State to test WAC competition.
“They are good teams,” he said. “I don’t think it will be a problem, us competing in the WAC. New Mexico State is the four-time defending champion, so we have some work to do to be able to catch them. I think we will be able to fit in nicely in the WAC.”

Senior Alastair Jones, who tied for ninth place, said the level of competition increases when playing teams from stronger conferences.

“We start to see different teams and they shoot lower scores,” he said. “We will have to shoot lower scores to be able to keep up with them. The standard is higher. If the course offers a lot of birdies, they go out and shoot the birdies.”

This tournament marks the end of the fall season for the men. Jones said the eighth place finish was disappointing, but the offseason will allow the team to focus on improving.

“It was a pretty disappointing end to the semester,” he said. “We came into this tournament expecting a great finish and it didn’t quite happen. This offseason is going to be real big for all of us individually and as a team. We need to get better and work on our weakness.”

The Bobcat’s spring tournament begins with the Oak Hills Invitational Feb. 13-14 in San Antonio.
Sophomore Stuart Smallwood said his performance was below what he expects from himself.

“As an individual, it was a pretty poor and embarrassing show,” he said. “It was a terrible way for me to end the semester. I played really well up until now, and I pretty much threw it all away with this tournament.”

Smallwood said the team needs to push past this tournament to get the most out of its upcoming offseason.

“We had a poor performance at this tournament,” he said. “It happens to the best teams and players sometimes. We just have to pick back up and let it go. It is over now and we have to stay positive.”