Eighth at Battle at the Beach

NEWPORT COAST, Calif. – Sophomore Josh Eure posted his best round of the tournament on Tuesday over the final 18 holes of the Battle at the Beach, shooting even par, 70, to lead the No. 12 University of Arkansas men’s golf team to an eighth-place finish.

Arkansas shot a final round score of 369 for the final 18 holes to finish well off the pace of No. 2 UCLA who came from behind to win the team championship by three strokes over two-day leader and No. 25 San Diego. No. 14 Augusta State and Washington tied for third in the team standings and Arizona State rounded out the top five.

"We had several individuals play good rounds, but we just didn’t have enough of them," Arkansas head coach Brad McMakin said. "I thought that Josh improved with each hole that he played not just on the scorecard, but with his ball striking and approach to the course. Austin (Cook) put together a good tournament with a top 20 finish."

Eure’s day was steady from the first hole he played, the par four 10th. Hitting par putts on each of the first seven holes, Eure birdied the par five 17th but gave the stroke right back on 18 with a bogey. The bogey on 18 was the first of three consecutive holes of one-over par putting the sophomore at two-over with seven holes to go. A pair of par putts got Eure’s confidence back and he birdied two of his final five holes to finish the tournament with the third best round by any Razorback over the three days of competition.

Senior Jamie Marshall bounced back from a tough second day to finish with a three-over par, 73. Marshall played the back nine at one-over par with a birdie sandwiched between a pair of bogeys. Marshall’s front nine was not as kind as he bogeyed three of the first six holes before hitting his second birdie of the day on the par five eighth.

Cook continued to have a solid tournament and finished the three-day event with his second best overall placing of the season at tied for 17th. Cook fired a four-over par 74 for the day to bring his overall score to 215 and just eight strokes off a top five placing. The Jonesboro, Ark., native had a tough start to his day with three straight bogeys on 10, 11 and 12 to immediately go to three-over. A birdie on the par three 16th moved him to two-over for the back nine and led to a stretch of seven straight holes of par before a double bogey on the par three sixth moved him to four over. A birdie and bogey to finish the round kept him at four over for the day.

Junior Ethan Tracy and freshman Sebastian Cappelen each finished the tournament with rounds of six-over par to complete Arkansas’ team scoring on Tuesday. Tracy’s round began with a double bogey and included three more bogeys, two birdies and a triple bogey to get to his final score, while Cappelen’s round was a bit more controlled with one birdie, five bogeys and a double bogey.

Freshman Will Pearson had his toughest day of the tournament on Tuesday after two solid rounds.