The Cougars shot a 7-under-par 857 to claim first place at the Conference USA golf championships in Texarkana Ark. It is the first time UH has won since 2001. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
When golf director Jonathan Dismuke took control of the program three years ago, the Cougars were ranked No. 105 in the nation and far from where they were when legendary coach Dave Williams was at the helm.
What Dismuke said sold talented recruits on UH was the past — the program’s rich history of golf success.
Now Dismuke can sell UH to young men based on the present achievements of his teams.
The Cougars swept the team and individual titles at the Conference USA championship Tuesday after defeating a windy course and the field. Dismuke said his first recruiting class set the foundation for where the program is today.
“We recruited some good kids who wanted to be a part of the rebuilding process,” Dismuke said. “My first recruiting class took us from 105th in the nation to a top 25 program in the nation.”
The Cougars began the final round in a tie with No. 20 SMU for the team lead but came away with a three-stroke victory. They finished the tournament with a 7-under-par 857, while the second place Mustangs ended their day at 860.
Sophomore Roman Robledo drained birdie on the 18th hole for the second consecutive day, which clinched the individual title for himself and provided the final margin of victory in the Cougars’ team championship.
Robledo finished two strokes ahead of SMU’s Bryson Dechambeau and three strokes better than Nathan Kerns of Marshall by shooting a 8-under-par 208 for the tournament.
On the front nine, Robledo hit a fourth hole bogey and a double-bogey on the sixth.
He had an answer in the following rounds though. Robledo nailed birdies on the seventh and eighth holes to save par for the round.
Robledo finished the back nine one under par to capture the victory. Dismuke said the victory was the culmination of Robledo’s hard work.
“He has played great all week. Coming down the stretch, Roman hit quality shots that allowed him to make birdies,” Dismuke said. “At 16, he birdied and not a lot of guys birdie that hole.”
Sophomore Kyle Pilgrim shot a 71 to tie with Robledo for a team low and surge into 10th place with a final score of 218. After Monday, Pilgrim was tied for 22nd place. He said the key to making a move on the final day was getting out to a great start.
“I set a goal on the first six holes,” Pilgrim said. “I knew if I met that goal that I could do well on the final holes.”
Including Robledo and Pilgrim, the Cougars had four players finish in the top ten. Freshman Vincent Martino and junior Curtis Reed both tied for 10th place.
Robledo said the Cougars had 12 players contribute to the win.
“We have 12 players that are fantastic,” Robledo said. “This year is definitely a breakthrough for Houston golf. … From the beginning this is what we wanted. We were trying to come in and win at conference and hopefully take that momentum into regionals.”
