The weekend in golf was especially meaningful and productive for WKU men’s golf coach Phillip Hatchett of Russellville. His team finished third in a big tournament, one of his players tied for medalist, and one of his prize pupils won a collegiate tournament herself.
Billy Tom Sargent continued his strong start to the season with co-medalist honors Tuesday, as the WKU men’s golf team tied for third place at Southern Miss’ Sam Hall Intercollegiate.
Meanwhile freshman Mary Joiner of Franklin, who credits Hatchett as the coach who developed her into a golfer who can compete on the highest levels, was medalist of a women’s tournament while playing for Coach Adam Gary’s Lady Toppers.
WKU started its season with a clean sweep on the course, as Sargent and Joiner claimed the first men’s and women’s Conference USA Golfer of the Week awards, announcedWednesday by the league office.
Sargent, a redshirt sophomore from Georgetown, Ky., notched his first college victory with a 5-under 208 (65-73-70) at the par-71, 6,902-yard Hattiesburg Country Club.After shooting a 65 in Monday’s opening round – the lowest score by a Hilltopper since 2008 – Sargent closed with a 1-under 70 on Tuesday.
“Coming into the third day, we were down 10 strokes, and we were feeling really good about our games,” Sargent said. “We thought we could bring it back. We’re a really young team, and I think we’re going to continue to improve this year. We were there close this week to getting the win, and I think in the future we’ll definitely keep having chances to win.”
After completing the first two rounds in third place as a team, WKU finished in a tie for third with Mississippi State with an even-par 852 (283-284-285) total – better than any three-round result last season.
The Hilltoppers closed with a fury Tuesday, going a combined 6 under across the final three holes.
Sophomore Blake Smith tied for 12th individually with a 213 (73-69-71). Redshirt freshman Linus Lo tied for 17th in his college debut with a 214 (73-70-71).
True freshman Kyle Jeffers tied for 35th in his first event with a steady 217 mark (72-72-73), and sophomore Stuart Easton rounded out the card with a 224 (75-76-73), tying for 68th.
“I was really proud of the way the Hilltoppers played their first tournament,” WKU head coach Phillip Hatchett said. “We never quite got all five firing on all cylinders at the same time, but usually we had three or four playing well. Billy Tom started out really hot with a 65 and got us going. Kyle Jeffers was 3 under at one point.
“Considering we’ve got freshmen and sophomores – redshirts and not redshirts – going to the table right now, I was very, very satisfied and proud of the way they handled themselves, especially the way they closed it out. Nobody gave up. They were fighting the whole way, and it was a lot of fun to be around. I can’t wait for the future.”
Louisiana-Monroe won the team competition with an 8-under 844 tally, ahead of host Southern Miss at 4-under 848.
The Hilltoppers return to action next week at Louisiana Tech’s Jim Rivers Intercollegiate on Sept. 19-20 in Choudrant, La.
Joiner, who placed third in the state last year while playing for Franklin’s Lady Cats and won the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association Senior All-Star Tournament, has taken lessons from teaching pro Hatchett at Rolling Hills in Russellville for many years.
Joiner won the individual title in her first college event Tuesday, leading the WKU women’s golf team to a resounding 16-stroke victory at Murray State’s Drake Creek Invitational.Joiner fired a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s final round to finish her debut with a 217 (71-75-71) total at the par-72, 6,178-yard Drake Creek Golf Club.
That was one stroke better than Southern Illinois’ Brooke Cusamano and WKU junior teammate Georgina Blackman (71-75-72-218), who tied for second.
Joiner’s win was WKU’s first individual medalist effort since Ellinor Haag notched her second career title at the Lady Eagle Invitational on March 10, 2015.
“Winning my first-ever college tournament is beyond exciting and gives me great confidence for the future,” Joiner said. “We have a great team that I think will go far, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us.”