Jaguars sweep Southland men's golf championships; Jacobs is medalist
By Carlos Rodriguez | Sports editor
The Augusta University men’s golf team won their first Southland Conference Championship in program history, after winning the tournament by 14 shots on Thursday, April 27, at the Hill Country Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas.
The Jaguars shot 6-under par 858 for a three-round total of 282-281-295, finishing ahead of the University of New Orleans (+8).
In addition to winning the team title, freshman Stefan Jacobs won the individual crown, dominating the field by six shots after shooting 13-under par 203 (66-68-69), finishing only one stroke short of the conference tournament record of Lamar University’s John Reigger, who set it in 1985.
AU’s Jacobs led the tournament after each day.
“We have come a long way in just a short period of time,” said AU Coach Steven Paine. “We are making serious strides with our new standard and culture. It’s always nice to see your players succeed, especially at the championship level.”
Jacobs, a Johannesburg, South Africa native, was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow freshman teammate Behn Heyns (215, -1) who finished tied for fourth with New Orleans Grayson Gilbert and UIW’s Angel Guerra.
“Stefan was magnificent,” Paine said. “He’s been a huge piece in what we are doing in Augusta. Being from South Africa myself, I'm very connected with the junior circuit back home, and that's where Stefan and I were first introduced.”
Southeastern Lousiana’s Charlie Foster (209, -7) and Francis Marion’s Grant Sellers (213, -3) finished second and third, respectively, also joining the all-tournament team.
On Day One, the Jags had an eight-stroke lead, shooting 6-under par 282. The University of New Orleans and Lamar University trailed behind at 2-over par 290.
Jacobs was the individual leader through Day One, finishing the day 6-under, two shots ahead of Southeastern Louisiana’s Foster (-4) and three ahead of teammate Behn Heynes (-3).
On Day Two AU continued to increase their lead, shooting a 281 for the day and going up by 18 strokes.
Jacobs and Heynes remained in their positions. Jacobs was at 10-under par 134 while Heynes was 3-under par 141. Foster (-9) remained in second by one stroke.
AU’s Ian Pienaar and Hampus Wijkstrom were tied for seventh.
For the final day, the Jaguars lead was trimmed slightly, but still went on to win by a long shot.
Pienaar and Wijkstrom were able to hang onto a top-20 finish, both finishing in a tie for 14th at 5-over par 221. CJ van Wyk finished tied for 24th (224, +8).
With the win, the Jaguars receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament and will find out their regional destination on Wednesday, May 3. The regional will be May 15-17. It will be Augusta’s 23rd trip to the regionals, an outstanding record considering AU has one of the smallest programs in Division I. The Jaguars have won two team national titles and one individual national championship.
The victory gives Augusta five conference championships this academic year: Volleyball, men’s cross-country, men’s basketball, women’s and men’s golf.
AU’s Ting named SLC golfer, freshman of the year
Mirabel Ting, who led Augusta to the women’s SLC title last week, was named both player and freshman of the year in the conference.
Ting led the Jaguars to a second straight Southland crown and the NCAA Athens Regional, which opens on May 8 at the UGa. Golf Course. She has also been named to the Arnold Palmer Cup team.
The freshman from Malaysia had a 71.56 average score this season. She was 10-5 against top-25 competition and 8-0 against players ranked 26th through 50th. Ting is also ranked No. 7 in the nation by Golfstat.com and No. 13 in the Sagarin ratings. She finished second in the SLC medalist competition.
The other teams in the Athens regional include host Georgia, South Carolina, San Jose State, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Maryland, Ken State, Charleston, Kansas, Furman and Sacred Heart.
Contact Carlos Rodriguez at CARRODRIGUEZ@augusta.edu.
Stefan Jacobs led AU to its first-ever Southland Conference men’s golf title with a 13-under-par 203. At the top of the page, the Jaguars stand with their SLC trophy: Left to right, Coach Steven Paine, CJ van Wyk, Stefan Jacobs, Dawson Booth, Hampus Wijkstrom, Ian Pienaar and Assistant Coach Ben Nelson. (photos by Vashaun Newman, special to the Bell Ringer)
