The Lion’s Roar / Jay Love
Senior Baptiste Courtachon led the team in his final competition as a Southeastern athlete.
After a strong start on day one of the tournament, inclement weather and a late start would lead to an eighth place finish for the Lions golf team at the Miramont Invitational.
Winning the tournament was Houston University, who totaled three-under par. The top overall golfer was Louis Kelly of the University of Louisiana-Laffayette.
Mother Nature made herself known on day one of the tournament. Heavy rain forced officials to cut the tournament down to only two rounds. Not only were the golfers forced to deal with rain, winds would also have to be taken into account.
“The weather was the biggest factor, with winds at 20+ miles per hour,” said head coach Tim Baldwin.
Despite the unfavorable weather, the Lions were able to make a respectable run at winning the tournament. Two Lions tied for the team lead after round one. Both senior Grady Brame and senior Baptiste Courtachon carded scores of 74 in round one. Behind them with a score of 75 was junior Lawrence Allan. Rounding out the team was sophomore Gustavo Leon and sophomore Paul Obermann, who scored 76 and 78 respectively. The total team score of 299 earned Southeastern the fifth place position after round one.
Round two allowed for the course to be truly appreciated, minus some of the harsh conditions featured in round one. After carding a 299 as a team on round one of the tournament, the team repeated themselves and turned in another score of 299 on the second and final round of the tournament. Although it was their second crack at the course, the Lions were unable to come in clutch during the final round and made mistakes that would come back to haunt them in the final scores.
“Grady Brame and Baptiste Courtachon played very well for the team with top 10 finishes,” said Baldwin. “Unfortunately, we made some mistakes late in the round that cost us five spots in the team finish.”
Courtachon finished on top of the team after turning in a combined score of 143. Due to a graduation in December, this will be the last tournament that Courtachon will play with the Lions.
Brame followed closely behind Courtachon with a final score of 144.
Going into the tournament, the Lions were ranked 42 by the Golfweek national rankings. After the eighth place finish, the university’s ranking took a major hit.
“We should not have finished worse than third and it hurt us severely in the latest ranking, mobbing us from top 40 to 60 in the polls,” said Baldwin. “We hope to bounce back at the Moe O’Brien matchplay.”
Even with an eighth place finish, the Lions can still be satisfied with this fall season. The Lions have placed in the top three in multiple tournaments and even have a first place finish with their first tournament of the year.
For more information on Lions golf, visit lionsports.net.
The Lion’s Roar / Jay Love
Senior Grady Brame has done well during his career with the Lions. The Hammond native came just short of winning the David Toms Invitational hosted by LSU earlier in the season, and had to settler for second overall instead