The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Conference USA Championship
Eyster Earns First-Place Medal, Blazers Tops in Stroke Play
4/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
TEXARKANA, Ark. -- Sophomore Taylor Eyster picked up a first-place finish at the Conference USA Men's Golf Championship on Tuesday at the Texarkana County Club to lead the Blazers to a first-place finish in stroke play.
It is the first time since 2008 the Blazers have ended stroke play as the first-place team, and Eyster becomes the first Blazer since Zach Sucher in 2008 to claim the C-USA first-place medal.
For the first time since 2005, a playoff was needed to settle a tie for the individual medalist. Eyster needed just one hole to break the tie with Louisiana Tech senior Victor Lange and earn top honors after both players shot a 7-under 209 through three rounds. Eyster's play also earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Senior Martin Rohwer shot a 69 Tuesday -- his best round of the tournament -- to jump into the top 20. He finished at three-over, tied for ninth with teammate John Hayden. Hayden tied his tournament best today, tying his 72 from the first round. Lee Hodges fell into a tie for 18th at six-over with a 76, and senior Will Cannon finished just outside the top 20 at eight-over. Cannon recorded back-to-back rounds of 73 on the final two days of stroke play.
Leaderboard
Day 3 Team Stats
Day 3 Course Stats
Match Play Semifinal Pairings
UAB -- Score
T1. Taylor Eyster (-7)
T9. John Hayden (+3)
T9. Martin Rohwer (+3)
T18. Lee Hodges (+7)
T22. Will Cannon (+8)
Team -- Score
1. UAB -- 285 294 286 865 (+1)
2. Louisiana Tech -- 286 299 288 873 (+9)
3. North Texas -- 292 299 285 876 (+12)
4. UTSA -- 295 299 -- 288 882 (+18)
5. Middle Tennessee -- 296 289 299 884 (+20)
6. UTEP -- 302 292 293 887 (+23)
7. Old Dominion -- 292 304 294 890 (+26)
T8. Charlotte -- 299 299 296 894 99 (+30)
T8. Marshall -- 292 306 296 894 (+30)
10. WKU -- 297 302 301 900 (+36)
11. Rice -- 303 309 300 912 (+48)
12. Southern Miss -- 312 314 298 924 (+60)
13. Florida Atlantic -- 309 314 306 929 (+65)
2016 C-USA Men's Golf All-Tournament Team
T1. Taylor Eyster, UAB - medalist
T1. Victor Lange, Louisiana Tech
3. Thomas Rosenmueller, North Texas
T4. Seth Gandy, Charlotte
T4. Zander Lozano, UTSA
Head Coach Alan Murray’s thoughts
On the play of Taylor Eyster
“Really pleased with the guys in the stroke play. Taylor Eyster played phenomenal golf and richly deserved the individual title. He should have won at Ohio State a few weeks ago, but for a bad finish. He leaked a little oil coming in today but made a clutch 10-footer on the last to get into the playoff. He birdied one of the toughest holes this week due to the firm greens (number one) in the playoff. He hit it to five feet and really put the pressure on Victor. He has such great talent, and hopefully this win reinforces just how good he can be. To win a conference title individually as a sophomore is a special feat. So proud of him and so pleased for him. His teammates were also delighted for Taylor as he is such a popular team member.”
On individual performances
“John Hayden deserves a special mention. He made an eagle on his last hole in the stroke play to record his best finish in a college tournament with a tie for 9th place. Our seniors performed and led when we needed them to. Martin’s 69 was clutch and Will Cannon ground out a 73.”
On match play
“Our goal was to enter the match play as the No. 1 seed, and we achieved that. Our guys played very well again in the semi final against UTSA. We won four of the five matches with some excellent golf, and John was one up with two to play before darkness prevented them from finishing. We have to wait to see who we will play in the final tomorrow, but the main thing is we are there and can have a little extra sleep in the morning before we need to be at the course. Hopefully the weather cooperates and we are able to get the final in with no delays. We are excited and extremely motivated to fight for the title.”
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The top four teams, UAB, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, UTSA, advance to the Conference USA Men's Golf match play, which began this afternoon due to possible inclement weather in the area overnight and tomorrow morning. Match play concludes on Wednesday.
Eyster's play helped propel the Blazers to the No. 1 seed heading into the match play semifinals. UAB takes on No. 4-seed UTSA with play beginning from the first tee. Roadrunners freshman Sean Meehan recorded a hole-in-one on the par-three, 161-yard 11th. Louisiana Tech is the No. 2 seed following 54 holes of stroke play and will square off against No. 3 North Texas.
Match Play Pairings
Hole 1 -- No. 1 UAB vs. No. 4 UTSA
Lee Hodges (UAB) vs. Sean Meehan (UTSA)
John Hayden (UAB) vs. Brett Hogan (UTSA)
Taylor Eyster (UAB) vs. Zander Lozano (UTSA)
Will Cannon (UAB) vs. J.J. Lindsey (UTSA)
Martin Rowher (UAB) vs. Bryce Alley (UTSA)
Hole 10 -- No. 2 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 3 North Texas
Victor Lange (LT) vs. Ian Snyman (NT)
Ben Robinson (LT) vs. Cory Churchman (NT)
Chuck Spears (LT) vs. Michael Cotton (NT)
Luke Neeley (LT) vs. Alejandro Villasana (NT)
Jacob Wyatt (LT) vs. Thomas Rosenmueller (NT)
For more information on the UAB men's golf team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MensGolf). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
Players Mentioned
