FHSU Athletics
DENTON, Texas – The Fort Hays State men's golf team finished 12th at the DBU Men's Classic, held Monday and Tuesday at the Wildhorse Golf Club. The course was a par-72 layout with a total yardage of 6,880 yards. Bryce Cowan was the top Tiger on the leaderboard after tying for 21st.
Cowan had quite the opening round in the tournament, ranking second out of 83 total players after shooting 5-under par. The 67 shots through the first 18 holes served to be a career-best round for Cowan as well as a season-best round for the team. The senior drilled seven birdie putts in his first round and parred nine times. Cowan shot rounds of 78 and 75 to finish the tournament.
Jackson Rader finished in a tie for 37th with a total of 225, shooting rounds of 74, 78, and 73. Rader ranked in fourth-place in pars on the tournament after recording 38. Dustin Nichols ended the tournament in a tie for 53rd. Nichols turned in eight birdies in his three rounds with four coming in his final round.
Tanner Copeland finished one stroke behind Nichols with a 230, tying for 59th. Copeland shot rounds of 77, 78, and 75 on the tournament with nine birdies and 26 pars. Jacob George tied for 67th with a 233 over the three rounds. George was able to ace the 208-yard No. 7 during the team's practice round on Sunday.
As a team Fort Hays State was in eighth-place after the first round with a 293. The Tigers shot 15 birdies as a team in the opening round and 12 throughout the third round. Despite shooting 308 and 300 in their last two rounds, FHSU was able to beat Missouri Southern State by a single stroke. The Lions are currently ranked seventh in the region.
Dallas Baptist had two separate teams compete in the tournament, both finishing in the top-3. DBU (B) finished as the champion, outshooting the competition by 19 strokes with a 10-under par. Key Coker from Dallas Baptist was the tournament's individual champion after finishing 12 strokes under par.
The Tigers will now prepare for the MIAA Championships in Bolivar, Mo. The tournament is scheduled for April 17-19 at the Silo Ridge Golf & Country Club.