The Book: Ragin' Cajuns Golf 2006-07 Sun Belt Champs

[NewsCopy]

Devin Carrey had been waiting for Monday for a long time - ever since he joined UL's golf team this year. The Ragin' Cajuns had been waiting for a round like Monday afternoon, and because of that, the hosts are in striking position heading into the final day of the Louisiana Class-ics tournament at Oakbourne Country Club. Buoyed by the stellar six-under-par score of Carrey, the Cajuns posted an eight-under-par 280 score in Monday's second round and finished the day with a seven-under 569 score. UL is in third place in the 15-team field and is seven strokes back of front-running Southeastern Louisiana. The Cajuns were in fifth place after Monday's morning round before Carrey's afternoon effort that included six birdies and no bogeys. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

LAREDO, Texas - One of the oldest and most tradition-rich collegiate golf tournaments in the Southwest opens play today, with the UL squad in the field for the annual Border Olympics at Laredo Country Club. The Cajuns are part of a 15team field that includes nationally ninth-ranked Lamar and eight other teams that played in last year's NCAA regionals. The field also boasts 10 of last year's top 11 Border Olympics finishers, including defending champion Baylor. That group of top finishers from last year doesn't include the UL squad, which had one of its most disappointing outings of the 2006 season in last year's Border meet. The Cajuns finished last in the field, 55 strokes behind Baylor's winning score. The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

Morgan Landry shot one-under par in the first two rounds to pace the Cajuns and finish the day in sole possession of second place. BOSSIER CITY, La.-Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns golf team carded a one-under par second round score as a team to jump from third place to first place at the Hal Sutton Intercollegiate on Monday at the Golf Club of Stonebridge. The Cajuns carded a first round team score of 297 to conclude the opening round in third place. UL’s afternoon round improved by 10 strokes to allow the Cajuns to leap-frog into first place after the first day of competition. The Ragin’ Cajuns are looking to defend their 2006 Hal Sutton Intercollegiate title. Morgan Landry shaved seven strokes off of his first round score to card a four-under par 68 in the final round of the day. His one-under par efforts for the day landed the junior in second place, just five strokes behind Birmingham Southern’s Robert Lindstrom. Just two strokes back in a tie for fifth place was the Cajuns’ Michael Smith. The junior carded a one-over par round of 73 and an even-par round of 72 to finish the day at 145 and in a three-way tie for fifth place. Justin Lowe and Mark Brockhurst were two shots back of Smith in a tie for 10th place. Lowe rebounded from an opening round of 77 to shoot two-under par in the afternoon session and turn in a scorecard of 70. Brockhurst, who was competing in the event as an individual, shot an opening round of 71 and then added a 76 for a first day total of 147. Devin Carrey finished the day at five-over par. He shot 72 in the morning session and dropped five strokes to card an afternoon round of 77 to finish in a tie for 19th on the day. Rounding out the scoring for the Cajuns were Peter Badawy and Thomas Disch. Badawy carded rounds of 77 and 78 to finish in a tie for 37th, while Brockhurst turned in back-to-back scorecards of 81 to finish in a tie for 53rd while competing as an individual. The Ragin’ Cajuns will look to hold on to their three-stroke lead and claim their second straight Hal Sutton Intercollegiate title on Tuesday. Day One Results 1 Louisiana-Lafayette 297-287--584 2 UMKC 289-298--587 3 Louisiana Tech 291-297--588 4 Birmingham Southern 299-290--589 5 McNeese State 299-296--595 6 Oakland 301-302--603 7 Oral Roberts 309-295--604 8 Nicholls State 299-307--606 9 North Dakota State 305-312--617 10 Centenary 315-311--626 11 Birmingham Southern 320-313--633 12 Jackson State 317-317--634 Ragin’ Cajuns Results (team) 2 Morgan Landry 75-68--143 T-5 Michael Smith 73-72--145 T-10 Justin Lowe 77-70--147 T-19 Devin Carrey 72-77--149 T-37 Peter Badawy 77-78--155 Ragin’ Cajuns Results (individuals) T-10 Mark Brockhurst 71-76--147 T-53 Thomas Disch 81-81--162 LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

BOSSIER CITY - UL's golf team came within a shot of defending its team title, but the Ragin' Cajuns lost in a playoff for top honors Tuesday in the Hal Sutton Intercollegiate tournament at the Golf Course at StoneBridge. The Cajuns tied with La. Tech for the team title at 15-over-par 879, and the Bulldogs won a team playoff on the first hole. UL had won the Hal Sutton title in the 2006 spring season for its only victory on the 2005-06 schedule. "We just counted a couple of numbers that we couldn't afford to count today," said UL coach Bob Bass. "We should have won it outright, but you get yourself into a playoff like that and anything can happen." UL shot two-under as a five-man team on the playoff hole, the 398-yard par-four first hole, but Tech followed with a three-under score as a team to claim the title. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

JONESBORO, Ark.-Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns golf team shot a combined seven under par to finish in third place at the Arkansas State Indian Classic at Sage Meadows Golf Club in Jonesboro, Ark. The Cajuns finished just five strokes behind tournament champion South Florida. The third place finish marked the fourth time this season the Cajuns have finished in the top-five as a team. The Ragin’ Cajuns had four golfers finish the tournament at even par or lower. Michael Smith led the Cajuns with a fifth place finish. His final round of 69 gave the junior a four under par score of 212 for the tournament. The tie for fifth was the fourth time this season that Smith has finished a tournament in the top-5. Two strokes behind Smith was Justin Lowe. The junior tied for 11th carding a final round of 71. Lowe finished the tournament at two-under par. He had two rounds of 71 sandwiched around an even par round of 72. Devin Carrey finished the tournament at one under par. Starting the day at one under par, Carrey shot even par in the final round to finish the tournament in a tie for 15th. Morgan Landry finished the tournament at even par. Landry shot a final round score of 72 to finish the tournament in a tie for 24th. The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

UL's golf team had its final competitive round before next week's Sun Belt Conference Championships on Tuesday, and Ragin' Cajun coach Bob Bass liked what he saw. The Cajuns posted the day's low round on the final day of Arkansas State's Indian Classic and vaulted into a third-place final finish in the 16-team field. UL finished behind winning South Florida and runner-up New Orleans, but made up two strokes on USF and six on UNO during Tuesday's final round. The Cajuns had a four-under 284 team score over the 6,903-yard par-72 Sage Meadows course in Jonesboro, Ark., one of only two subpar rounds on the final day. USF had a two-under 286 Tuesday to finish at 12-under 852 for the tournament, with UNO second at 854 and the Cajuns third at seven-under 857. The next-closest teams were Troy at 862 and La. Tech at even-par 864. "The best thing about that is today was the toughest of the days we've had," Bass said. "It was cold and windy and the pins were probably in their toughest spots of the week. With all that, we had good, consistent play. "We've been trying to put a good finishing day on things all spring, and we really got it done today." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[Turbine]

Congrats to the Ragin' Cajuns whose 284 was the lowest for the final round.

I see glimpses of being very good. Hopefully they can put it all together for the Sun Belt tournament.

[NewsCopy]

Pre Tourney

UL's golf team heads to the Sun Belt Conference Championships Monday with high hopes. The Ragin' Cajuns had similar hopes last season, having finished ahead of its league partners most of the season before falling apart and finishing ninth out of 10 teams in the Sun Belt meet. "We're a lot better prepared this time," said Cajun coach Bob Bass, whose team has finished tied for first and in third place in its last two tournaments. "We said all year that we'd been waiting to have good final rounds and finish off tournaments, and we've done that over the last two weeks." This year's 12-team men's field - UL Monroe and Florida Atlantic join the fray as all-sports members of the league for the first time - begins play Monday at Disney World's Magnolia course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The 11-team women's tournament is held concurrently at Disney's Eagle Pines layout, but UL does not field a women's golf team. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

SUNBELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

ORLANDO, Fla.-Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns men’s golf team opened the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a third place finish. The Cajuns had all-five players finish the day in the top 25 with three players tied for 11th. The Cajuns collected a team score of 297, just 12 strokes behind the first round leader New Orleans. UL is currently tied with Denver and the pair is just one stroke behind North Texas who is currently in second place. Individually, the Cajuns did very well in their first round. Justin Lowe, Morgan Landry and Peter Badawy all tied for 11th turning in scorecards of two-over par each. Lowe carded a team low front nine of 36. He followed that up with a two-over par back nine of 38. Badawy was consistent carding a score of 37 on both the front and the back nine. Landry opened the day with a front nine score of 39, but rebounded in the back nine to card a 35. Devin Carrey finished just one stroke behind the Cajuns’ leaders. His three-over par round of 75 was good enough to finish in a tie for 15th. The rest of the story Chris Whitehead RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

UL's golf team fought rugged conditions on the first day of the Sun Belt Conference Championships Monday, and the Cajuns stand tied for third heading into today's second round at Walt Disney World's Magnolia Course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Cajuns carded a nine-over 297 score, getting balanced scoring with three 74's and one 75 in its counting rounds as one of the first teams out, and head coach Bob Bass thought that score might put his squad near the lead. That was before New Orleans blazed in with a three-under 285 team score in the late groups, groups that didn't have to fight as much of the cold and wind as the early starters. "We had a really good round considering the conditions," Bass said. "We played solid in some serious wind. It was probably a three-club wind on some of the par-threes." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com