LA QUINTA, Calif. – The No. 17 SMU men's golf team finished fifth among a 24-team field, nine of which were ranked or receiving votes, at The Prestige, hosted at PGA West's Greg Norman course.
 
The Mustangs improved their finish by one spot from last season's sixth-place result at the same event. SMU was +7 in the final round, finishing the tournament at +8. No. 11 Arizona and North Carolina tied for the team championship at -4. There was a three-way tie for medalist honors at -4, between Trevor Werbylo (Arizona), Jacob Skov Olesen (TCU) and Ludvig Aberg (Texas Tech).
 
"The guys battled all week to post a good finish in a loaded field," head coach Chris Parra said. "With windy conditions today, it was difficult to make up ground in the leaderboard."
 
"We know what we need to work on for our home event at Trinity Forest," Parra added.
 
Noah Goodwin produced SMU's best round of the day, shooting even-par 71 for the second time in the tournament. Goodwin finished the tournament t-21^st at +3, marking his second top-25 finish in as many events this spring.
 
Mac Meissner led the Mustangs over the 54-hole tournament, finishing the three-day event t-12^th at +1. Meissner led the tournament by playing the three par-5s at -6 for the week, including an eagle on the 537-yard 16^th Wednesday. He used 73 strokes to get around the par 71 / 7,100-yard Greg Norman Course at PGA West in the final round.
 
Nathan Petronzio recovered after a +3 start to play his last 16 holes at -1, totaling up to a 2-over 73. The freshman, who shot 69 to open the tournament Monday, ended up tied for 66^th at +8.
 
Ollie Osborne finished the event at +6, tying for 44^th after turning in a 74, which included a -1 front-nine. Dawson Ovard, in the SMU lineup for the first time this season, finished a stroke behind at +7, in the tie for 53^rd.
 
Down the street at Coral Mountain Golf Club, Ben Wong finished the concurrent Prestige Individual Tournament in 41^st at +18. He shot a final-round 82.
 
The Mustangs return to action March 7-9 to host the Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas.