WKU men's golf fired a final round 286 to finish fourth overall in the Bash at the Beach hosted by The Surf Club on Tuesday afternoon, finishing the tournament at nine-over 861 (283-292-286) for the three-round event.
The Hilltoppers had the fifth-best round in the field of 19 teams on Tuesday, trailing only James Madison, Gardner-Webb, Belmont and West Georgia, which is ranked 17th at the Division II level. James Madison earned the team title at 13-under par 839 (291-272-276) and was the only team in the event to finish under par.
"In our first event of the semester, I am very pleased with the performance of our players. In three different occasions we had young players at four and five strokes under par during the first round and the last round. Learning to bring that in is all we need to do to really separate ourselves from the rest of the teams. We have more firepower for taking it low than ever before in my five years here at WKU," head coach Phillip Hatchett of Russellville said of the team's performance.
Western placed behind James Madison, Arkansas State and Gardner-Webb while placing ahead of 15 other teams, with Belmont fifth, Oakland sixth and Appalachian State seventh.
Blake Smith and Billy Tom Sargent each earned top-10 finishes for the Hilltoppers as both finished in a tie for ninth place at one-under par 212. Smith fired two under-par rounds in the event, going 70-72-70 in his three rounds, while Sargent tallied cards of 71-70-71 on Monday and Tuesday.
Austin King made the third-largest leap up in the individual leaderboard in the field of 111 on Tuesday, improving 24 spots to finish tied for 26th overall. King's jump came as a result of his two-under 69 after rounds of 73 and 76 on Monday.
Both Trey Aguirre and Stuart Easton had scores of five-over 76 in their final rounds on Tuesday. Aguirre tied for 32nd overall at 69-74-76, while Easton went 73-77-76 in his three rounds to tie for 63rd.
Competing as an individual, Nick Thompson finished tied for 86th with a three-round total of 231, tallying rounds of 81-75-75 in the tournament.
James Madison's Ryan Cole earned the individual medal for the event, finishing at 8-under par 205.
WKU will return to action on Sunday and Monday at the Cape Fear Intercollegiate hosted by Appalachian State at the Cape Fear National Golf Course in Leland, N.C.
WKU Final Results
T9. Blake Smith (-1, 212, 70-72-70)
T9. Billy Tom Sargent (-1, 212, 71-70-71)
T26. Austin King (+5, 218, 73-76-69)
T32. Trey Aguirre (+6, 219, 69-74-76)
T63. Stuart Easton (+13, 226, 73-77-76)
T86. Nick Thompson (+18, 231, 81-75-75) - Individual