The Western Kentucky University Hilltopper men's golf team fired the second-lowest team score of the final round with a 306 and claimed fourth place as the host of the WKU Kenny Perry Invitational at The Club at Olde Stone on Tuesday afternoon.
WKU finished the tournament at 37-over 901 (302-293-306) and landed nine strokes behind Arkansas State, who claimed the overall team trophy with a 28-over 892 (292-298-302). Thomas Perrot of Memphis finished as the individual medalist for the event, tallying an even-par 216 (72-69-75) for his three-round total.
"This team doesn't have any quit in them. The golf course played completely different today; the wind changed 180 degrees on us and the greens were still just as fast as they were yesterday, so there were a lot of high scores out there today," WKU head coach Phillip Hatchett of Russellville said. "It's easy to give up in conditions like that, but we showed a lot of fight. We left some shots out there, but everybody else did today as well."
Billy Tom Sargent was the highest-finishing Hilltopper, tying for ninth overall to earn his best collegiate finish. Sargent's three-round total of 221 (+5, 73-69-79) also matched the lowest total of his collegiate career; the sophomore also fired a 221 in the Firestone Invitational last week to tie for 47th.
Also landing inside the top 15 for WKU was Austin King, whose nine-over 225 (74-74-77) put him in a tie for 15th.Trey Aguirre fired the low round of the day for the WKU squad, using a one-over 73 to move up 22 spots on the leaderboard, the biggest jump of the final round for all players. Aguirre tied for 21st with a three-round total of 228 (+12, 78-77-73) to finish third among the Hilltoppers.
"Trey played really well for us today shooting his 73, and Austin and Bryant had two 77's for us," Hatchett said. "The guys really hung in there and did the best that we could dealing with the wind today."
Rounding out the five-man card for WKU were Blake Smith and Bryant Evans, who tied for 31st and 41st, respectively. Smith turned in a 15-over 231 (77-73-81) over the three rounds, while Evans went 18-over 234 (79-78-77) in the event.
Stuart Easton, Nick Thompson and Scotty Hudson also competed as individuals for the Hilltoppers. Easton logged a 13-over 229 (77-78-74) to finish tied for 25th, Thompson placed 51st overall with a 22-over 238 (77-79-82) and Hudson, who was making his debut for WKU, took 65th with a three-round card of 251 (+35, 81-82-88).
WKU will be back in action next Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 19 and 20, at the Kennesaw State Intercollegiate hosted at the Pine Tree Country Club in Kennesaw, Ga.
WKU Final Results
T9. Billy Tom Sargent (+5, 221, 73-69-79)
T15. Austin King (+9, 225, 74-74-77)
T21. Trey Aguirre (+12, 228, 78-77-73)
T31. Blake Smith (+15, 231, 77-73-81)
T41. Bryant Evans (+18, 234, 79-78-77)
T25. Stuart Easton -- Indiv. (+13, 229, 77-78-74)
51. Nick Thompson -- Indiv. (+22, 238, 77-79-82)
65. Scotty Hudson -- Indiv. (+35, 251, 81-82-88)
How to follow the Hilltoppers: For complete information on WKU Hilltopper Golf, follow the team on Twitter at@WKUMensGolf.