A strong third-day performance catapulted ULM’s Maroon team to a seventh place finish in the Wallace Jones Invitational on a windy Tuesday at Southern Pines Country Club’s Calvert Crossing Course.

Sitting in tenth place following Monday’s opening two rounds, the Warhawks rebounded to shoot a 301 on the final 18 holes of the tournament to jump ahead three spots in the standings.

“The course was not playing easy. [The team] responded well even when it seemed like it was out of grasp. They fought as hard as they could and that’s all I can ask from them,” head coach Erik Hsu said.

Mason Seaborn led ULM with a fifth place finish on an overall score of 222 (+6). After shooting a 76 and a 75 during the first two rounds, Seaborn closed out the tournament with a 71, tied for the best scores of the day.

“I kept everything in play and didn’t really make any big numbers,” Seaborn said. “I was able to make a few birdies to cancel out the couple bogies I had.”

Greg Smail was the second-highest finisher for the Warhawks. The Scotland-native’s score of 232 (+16) tied him for 27th place.

“The weather today was a lot harder. The wind really picked up,” Smail said.

Mother nature was a factor during the final round. The wind made it difficult to shape shots and stay on the greens. Only three golfers turned in scores at even or below par on Tuesday.

“The wind really exaggerates what you’re doing and exposes your mistakes. A shot that would normally be 10 yards off the line is going to be 20 to 30 yards off in the wind,” Hsu said.

With the Sun Belt conference tournament on the horizon, Hsu used the Wallace Jones Invitational as an opportunity to evaluate the rest of his roster. He divided his team into two squads—Maroon and Gold—to see how they would respond in a tournament setting.

Cody Wells headlined the Gold team, shooting a career-low 74 in the final round to go with an overall score of 239 (+23).

Hsu said that Seaborn and Smail will fill the first two positions in the lineup, but the three, four and five spots are all up for grabs.

“This is the best evaluation I can get of these guys,” Hsu said. “It’s one thing playing on your home golf course during the week, but it’s different once you get out here in competition.”

The Sun Belt will host the conference championship tournament beginning on Monday, April 22. Tee time is set for 8 a.m.