Men’s golf slumps at Trinity Forest Invitational

Michael+Rome+observes+a+drive+he+hit+during+the+Lone+Star+Invitational+three+weeks+ago.+Rome+followed+up+his+individual+tournament+win+with+a+14th+place+finish+at+the+Trinity+Forest+Invitational+Jeff+Huehn%2FUTSA+Athletics

Michael Rome observes a drive he hit during the Lone Star Invitational three weeks ago. Rome followed up his individual tournament win with a 14th place finish at the Trinity Forest Invitational Jeff Huehn/UTSA Athletics

Ryder Martin, Sports Editor

Fresh off of a team championship at the Roadrunner Invitational two weeks ago, UTSA men’s golf was in action from Oct. 4-5, in Dallas, TX, for the Trinity Forest Invitational. Competing against 13 other teams, it was going to take a strong consistent effort over three days to take home the title, and unfortunately for the ‘Runners, they did not get it. A strong start to round one of the tournament was followed up by brutal rounds two and three that doomed them to an eighth-place finish. Leading the way for the ‘Runners individually was Michael Rome, who finished in a tie for 14th at one under par for the tournament. 

UTSA got off to a great start in the tournament in round one. They shot a five under par 279 as a team and sat just three strokes behind UT Arlington for first place. Unfortunately, the wheels came off the bus in round two as the team struggled to a 12 over par 296 that sent them plummeting down the leaderboard into eighth. The final round saw the team endure similar struggles on their way to a seven over par 291, a result that kept anyone from catching up to them, but not one that was going to move them up the leaderboard.

Individually, Rome turned in the ‘Runners’ best performance of the tournament, as he finished with a one under par 212, 14 strokes behind individual tournament winner Noah Goodwin from SMU. Behind Rome sat Christian Fanfelle, who finished the tournament at three over par in a tie for 26th. Further down the order was Hunter Bott, finishing in a tie for 35th at six over par. Sitting two strokes behind Bott was Reed Foster, who did not compete in the team competition, but tied for 44th place finish at eight over par. Bringing up the rear for UTSA were the duo of Jack Wehman and David Harrison, who finished in a tie for 50th at 10 over par. 

The team competition saw the ‘Runners finish 40 strokes behind tournament winners SMU, who put in a dominant performance to win their home tournament at 26 under par, 18 shots ahead of second place UT Arlington. Although they endured a shaky final round, the ‘Runners were able to outpace Abilene Christian University for eighth place, finishing six strokes ahead of them. The men’s team will have a quick turnaround time as they will be back on the road next week to Montgomery, TX, from Oct. 11-13, for the Bentwater Intercollegiate.