Oklahoma City is known to bring the thunder, and the men’s golf team is no exception. ULM lost in a playoff round against the Oklahoma City University Stars in the ULM Wallace Jones Invitational at the Calvert Crossing Country Club in Calhoun on Monday and Tuesday. The Warhawks tallied a final score of 887 through the first three rounds, tying with the Stars.
The two teams of five golfers went into a playoff round, which sent them back to the 18th hole. ULM could not squeeze out the win.
“Nothing really went wrong,” said Nick Wilson, a senior who tied for eighth in individuals with 223 for both days. “We did what we wanted to do, which was to be in contention. Sometimes balls just don’t bounce your way.”
After the first day, ULM was behind one stroke to OCU and was able to take the lead by as many as three strokes on the second day. But, OCU rallied and thanks to a few miscues by the Warhawks, the teams were tied once all scores were tallied.
“We came off a good day yesterday,” said Alex Malmay, a junior who shot a 69 in the second round on Monday. “Today we had some chances to win it down the stretch, but some of the putts didn’t fall and they came out on top in the playoff.”
ULM had strong performances in its last five tournaments, finishing in the top 10 in all of them. With this being the team’s first home invitational, Malmay said he hoped to get past being just “in the hunt.”
“We were hoping to change that today and play a better final round. But, we came up one short.”
Despite the chipped finished, ULM’s freshmen put in solid work for the team. Freshman Christian Tepley showed emotions at the end of the playoff round against OCU, but looks forward to the team’s main goal, conference.
“You want to win so badly, and when you get to that moment, it’s difficult,” said Tepley, who totaled 227 through both days. “We still played well as a team, and we are getting better.”
The team had three members finish in the top 10 individually, and head coach Erik Hsu said it’s something the team has been putting together all year.
“We are peaking at the right time, going into the conference championship,” Hsu said. “This is when we want to be playing our best golf, and this is what they are doing.”
Hsu added, “Hats off to my two seniors [Tim Hardham and Nick Wilson] who are the foundation of the team leading three freshman. They take them under their wings, and it’s a building process. Winning is a learning process.”