OWASSO, Okla. – SWOSU Men's Golf captured the Hillcat Classic title on Tuesday afternoon as the only team in the field to shoot under par in the tournament, led by three individuals finishing in the top five.
It marks the first outright team title outside of Weatherford for the Bulldogs since the Bearcat Invitational in 2016. Northwestern secured the runner-up finish at +8, while host Rogers State placed third, shooting +14 through the three rounds.
Ben Jackson led the Dawgs with his first top-10 finish of the season, placing runner-up. He was tied for the lead going into his final hole, but a third bogey on the par-4 ninth hole dropped him back to second place. His best round came on the opening day, shooting a four-under 68 with five birdies and an eagle, one of two eagles in the tournament, tied for the most in the field. His 13 birdies on the week were tied for the second-most among all competitors. He went -6 on par 5s for the week, tied for the best score in the field.
Ryan Carlisle finished third, right behind teammate Jackson, with a -1 finish. He went 74-70-71 over the three rounds and recorded only five bogeys, the second-fewest in the 48-player field. Carlisle totaled 10 birdies, with four coming in each of the final two rounds. It is his first top-10 finish of his career.
Sawyer Burleson was -2 after the first day and tied for third before a final-round 75 dropped him two spots to a fifth-place finish at +1. On the first day, when 36 holes were played, he recorded six birdies and an eagle. This was just his third tournament of the season, and before this week he had not finished in the top 50. He earned his first top-five finish of his career.
Conrado Diaz Ermacora had a rough first day, going 75-76 over his first 36 holes before a one-under 71 corrected his course on the final day, moving up 11 spots on Tuesday, the most in the field. In his final round he had five birdies compared to just two in the opening two rounds, though he did have an eagle in his middle round. He finished T-14.
Samuel Moran shot 79-74-73. After his first round, he recorded 27 pars over his final 36 holes of play, along with three birdies.
Maximo Douer went 77-77-74, totaling at least two birdies in each round.
The Dawgs will take a week off before being back on the course for the MSU Men's Invitational on March 23-24 at Wichita Falls C.C.
Hillcat Classic
Monday-Tuesday, March 9-10
Owasso, Okla. (Bailey Ranch GC)
