Men's golf dominates third round, wins The Farms Collegiate

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From SMUMustangs.com:

Burgess, SMU Dominate Third Round For The Farms Collegiate Invitational Title

Feb. 9, 2016

RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. (SMU) – The SMU men’s golf team claimed its second team title of the season, boasting four top 10 finishers, including senior Ryan Burgess, who earned his first-career individual title at The Farms Collegiate Invitational Tuesday at The Farms Golf Club.

As a team, the Mustangs were the only team to shoot under par, finishing 8-under with a three-round score of 856. SMU finished 29 strokes ahead of second-place San Francisco (+21,885).UC Irvine and UC Riverside rounded out the top three tied with a score of 894, 38 strokes behind SMU.

"I'm really proud of the team. We played well on a demanding golf course," SMU head coach Jason Enloe said. "I'm also so proud of Ryan and Austin's individual accomplishments as they led the team to victory."

Burgess, a Ranch Santa Fe, California, native, paced the Mustangs in the final round, carding seven birdies and nine pars. The senior finished the round 4-under par (68) en route to a 7-under (209) victory. Burgess finished with 15 birdies over the two-day tournament, accompanied by an eagle on the ninth hole, a 489-yard, par-5 in the first round.

Austin Smotherman continued his dominance, carding five birdies in the final round, including three on the front nine, to card a 4-under 68 on the day. Smotherman tallied a three-day 5-under 211 to tie Seth Sweet of Old Dominion for second place, matching his career-best. The Loomis, California, native finished with 16 birdies over the three rounds.

Andrew Buchanan finished the tournament six strokes behind Smotherman, +1, 217, with 11 birdies and tied for eighth. Buchanan finished the final round with a 1-over 73 carding three birdies. Alex Higgs provided the Mustangs’ final counting score, shooting a 1-under 71 in the final round, to tie for 10th overall at +3 (219). Higgs finished with 10 birdies and has now finished in the top 10 in all four 2015-16 tournaments.

Gray Townsend finished the third round with a 79 (+7) with three birdies. The sophomore recorded nine birdies over the three rounds to finish with a 17-over 233 and tied for 46th.

The SMU men’s golf team returns to the links Friday, Feb. 19-21 to compete in the All American Intercollegiate in Houston.