April 27, 2015
Complete Results
LECANTO, Fla. (SMU) -- The SMU Mustangs used a record-breaking final round to jump up to second at the end of the American Athletic Conference Championship at the Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Fla. Junior Bryson Dechambeau set a tournament record with an 8-under 64 on Monday, rising from 11th to second on the leaderboard at 9-under overall.
SMU set a new event record with a team score of 273 (-15) on Monday, receiving under-par rounds from DeChambeau, sophomore Andrew Buchanan (-1), junior Austin Smotherman (-4) and sophomore Alex Higgs (-2). The Mustangs began the day in fourth place, leaping over both Houston and UCF to earn the runner-up result at 14-under par for the championship.
DeChambeau carded nine birdies and just one bogey over his final 13 holes to contend for the tournament win. DeChambeau, the 2014 event medalist, wound up just two strokes off the lead of USF's Ryan Fricker, who posted a final round 71 to finish at 11-under for the tournament. The 64 on DeChambeau's final-round scorecard matched the lowest of his collegiate career, when he posted a 64 in the final round of the 2013 Gifford Collegiate.
Buchanan closed the event with his second straight round of 71, recording his third top-10 of the season at 5-under par. Smotherman earned his sixth top-10 of the season, finishing the event with a 4-under 68, his fourth round in the 60's in 2014-15. Smotherman bogeyed the third hole, but rattled off five birdies over his last 14 holes to reach the top 10.
Higgs tied for 22nd overall at 3-over, earning his best career collegiate result. Higgs birdied his first two holes, then birdied two of his last five, to finish with a 2-under 70 on Monday. Junior Ryan Burgess posted his best round of the tournament with an even-par 72, finishing tied for 30th at 7-over par.
No. 18 USF won the championship, carding a final score of 27-under par, led by individual medalist Fricker. UCF took third, while Houston and Memphis rounded out the top five. The Bulls earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals with the win. SMU will learn its NCAA postseason fate on Monday, May 4, at 9 a.m. CT, as the Golf Channel will televise the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship Selection Show.
Last season, SMU won the inaugural American Athletic Conference title, then followed with a fourth-place showing at the NCAA Regionals in San Antonio and a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA Championships, the best national finish in program history since winning the national title in 1954.
Photos: The American/Ben Solomon
Posted by SMU Men's Golf on Monday, April 27, 2015
