Junior Matt Eschenburg was one of several Cougars to get stronger as the weekend went on at the Conference USA Championships, but UH came away with a disappointing seventh-place finish. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
The Cougars went into this week’s Conference USA Championships in Sorrento, Fla., with high hopes of finishing the season on a high note but ultimately came away with more of the same and a seventh-place finish at the Red Tail Golf Club.
UH did improve its score each of the three days but couldn’t move up from its sixth-place standings after Sunday’s first round. The Cougars shot a 1-over 289 on Tuesday and finished the tournament with a team score of 23-over 887 on the par-72, 7,152-yard course.
Central Florida, the tournament’s host, shot a 10-under 278 on the final day to claim the team championship with a cumulative score of 6-under 858, 18 shots better than second-place Rice.
Senior Jackie Lindsey led the Cougars, shooting 221 for a 16th-place finish. Lindsey lowered his score by two strokes each of the three days and posted a 1-under 71 on Tuesday to wrap up his final C-USA event. He opened Tuesday’s final round with five consecutive pars before recording back-to-back birdies on No. 6 and 7. He then reeled off nine straight pars but stumbled on the 17th hole, bogeying the par-5 for the only positive number on his card.
Junior Matt Eschenburg came in at a tie for 21st place with a 223, and junior Justin Kaplan tied for 24th with a total of 224.
Like Eschenburg, redshirt freshman Joseph Reynolds improved his score each day and wrapped up his first C-USA Championship with a three-day total of 225.
Rice’s Christopher Brown took home medalist honors for best individual performance after posting a 3-under 69 on Tuesday and finished the tournament with a 209.
