Eagles take third with two top-10 golfers

Two Eagles finished in the top 10 at the Dallas Baptist Patriot Classic on April 6-7, while Oklahoma Christian University placed third as a team.

Sam Johnston and Trey Payne both finished day one in the top six, after shooting rounds of 70 and 72, and 71 and 72, respectively.

As a team, the Eagles stood third with their first-day two-round score of 578. They trailed the leading Cameron University by six shots upon entering Tuesday’s final rounds.

Freshman Zac Schafer placed 11th after the first day, shooting a 71 and 73.

Schafer said he tried to take advantage of the low-scoring course.

“On Monday our goal was to stay in contention, despite some tough circumstances, to give us a chance to win the tournament,” Schafer said. “It was really windy and we couldn’t let that get in our heads. We just had to stay focused and play good golf.”

Jared Consoli shot a 77 on his opening round but returned to shoot an even-par 72 to end his day, making him tied for 24th going into Tuesday.

The second day of the tournament ended with Johnston and Payne both on the leaderboard, and the team holding its spot at third.

Johnston shot a 2-under-par on day two that placed him at second — two shots from the winner.

Payne finished the second day tied for seventh after shooting a 73 — his best placing of the spring season.

Oklahoma Christian entered the day at third and made a run for first, but fell back to third after the round was completed. The Eagles were one shot behind Central Missouri University and 14 from the winner, Cameron University.

Schafer said this week’s tournament was important for the team as it moved on to the playoffs.

“The tournament was good for the most part,” Schafer said. “We didn’t start off this year very well, so our finish this week showed that our time we’ve put in practicing has helped our scores improve.”

As for conference standings, the Eagles placed among the highest of all Heartland conference teams, setting them up for the conference golf tournament in two weeks.

Schafer said the younger players on the team are trying to finish well for the seniors.

“We have one tournament left, which is conference in Horseshoe Bay, Texas,” Schafer said. “We are continuing to improve so we can take home the victory and allow our seniors to go out with a bang.”

Head Coach David Lynn said he was pleased with his men’s performance, but is still looking for a little more.

“Sam had a solid event, nothing spectacular for him, just steady,” Lynn said. “Trey Payne had his best event of the year playing extremely steady and making very few mistakes. Zac Schaefer also had his best event of the spring and he is really starting to play nicely going into conference. Jared Consoli and Chase Esparza also chipped in one good round each, but if we are going to contend at conference they will have to be more consistent.”

Oklahoma Christian will use the next week to prepare for the Heartland Conference Championship on April 20-21.

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