Men’s Golf Places Fifth at Hootie at Bulls Bay

The Missouri men’s golf team finished fifth of 15 schools in its second tournament of the spring season, posting a team score of -26 at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, South Carolina.

The Tigers shot a seven-under 281 during the third day of action. Freshman Alfons Bondesson recorded a four-under 68 in all three rounds to card a -12 for the tournament – tied for fourth of 81 golfers at the event. It marked the rookie’s second-straight top-five finish after placing second at the Colleton River Collegiate to open the spring campaign. Over the 54-hole tournament, Bondesson carded 17 birdies with just five bogeys.

Junior Jack Lundin matched Bondesson for the team lead during the final round of action with a 68. Following an opening-round 74, Lundin fired a 67-68 during the final two rounds (tied for fourth among all golfers in the field) to finish with a seven-under 209, placing 16th overall. The junior carded 10 birdies with just one bogey over the final 36 holes to charge up the leaderboard.

Senior Charlie Crockett (-5), graduate DJ Springer (+1) and freshman Antonio Safa (+2) rounded out the team’s performance during the week, while sophomore Dawson Meek also competed as an individual at -1.

QUOTABLE
Alfons Bondesson on second-straight top-five finish
“I knew my potential out there and the game felt good. I had a lot of confidence going into this week. Just built on that and looked to play the same golf as the last tournament. I took each shot for what it is and it ended up working out this week as well.”

Jack Lundin on 67-68 finish to the tournament
“The 74 was a little rocky to start but you just need to keep believing in yourself and know that you prepared well enough to play well and keep playing well. I think these last two rounds let me know that I am good enough to play with these guys and if I eliminate that 74, I can be in contention.”

Charlie Crockett on the team’s performance during the tournament
“I think we were close to playing really well. It was solid and we had lots of good stuff this trip. It’s only our second event of the spring and I think we learned a lot from this week. We’re playing against teams who are almost on their last event of the season and we’re still learning about how to get the best out of ourselves each day.”

Co-Coach Mark Hankins on the team’s performance
“Fifth out of 15 is progress for the second tournament of the spring. Our preparation was solid and it showed with many contributions throughout the lineup. The wind changed up on Day 3 and we didn’t put enough scores together to move up the leaderboard but three top-25 individual performances and a second straight top five for Alfons was extremely positive.”

TEAM RESULTS
1. East Tennessee State – 824 (-40)
2. New Mexico – 831 (-33)
3. NC State – 832 (-32)
4. Purdue – 834 (-30)
5. Missouri – 838 (-26)
6. College of Charleston – 845 (-19)
6. Kentucky – 845 (-19)
8. South Carolina – 847 (-17)
8. VCU – 847 (-17)
10. Furman – 853 (-11)
11. Wisconsin – 855 (-9)
12. Virginia Tech – 857 (-7)
13. Kent State – 858 (-6)
14. West Virginia – 860 (-4)
15. Eastern Kentucky – 901 (+37)

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
4. Alfons Bondesson – 68-68-68 – 204
16. Jack Lundin – 74-67-68 – 209
25. Charlie Crockett – 66-72-73 – 211
40. Dawson Meek – 68-68-79 – 215
49. DJ Springer – 73-70-74 – 217
59. Antonio Safa – 75-71-72 – 218

UP NEXT
The Tigers return to action on Monday, competing at the Cowboy Classic in Chandler, Arizona.