Razorback MGolf To Defend Title in Spring Opener in Puerto Rico
FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas men’s golf team will open the spring portion of its schedule by defending its title from last year at the Palmas Del Mar Collegiate this weekend (Feb. 9-11) in Puerto Rico.
Last year, Arkansas won by seven strokes over the 16-team field with a 27-under-par score of 837. Four Razorbacks finished among the top 12. Among those are two that will return this year. John Daly II tied for seventh (71-68-69) and Matthis Lefevre (70-71-70) tied for 12th.
Rounding out the lineup are Thomas Curry, Gerardo Gomez and Erich Fortlage while Mark Stockdale will play as an individual.
Curry had the highest finish by a Razorback during the fall season after tying for fourth at the Hamptons Intercollegiate. He finished the fall season second on the team with a scoring average of 74.08.
Gomez is coming off a third-place finish at the South America Amateur Championship. Thanks to that performance, he has climbed from 260th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in November to 159th this week. He led the team with a scoring average of 73.75 in the fall thanks to a team-best two top 20 finishes.
Daly only played in two fall events but he did place 12th at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational. Lefevre also played in just two fall events but he did turn in the lowest round by a Razorback in the fall with a 67 in Folds of Honor Collegiate.
Fortlage led the team with a 74.17 scoring average in the fall. He played in all four team events in the fall, three in the starting lineup and once as an individual. Ironically, his best result came while playing as an individual with a fifth-place finish at the Blessings. This past month, he finished third at the South America Amateur and, a week later, was sixth at the Latin America Amateur. Like Gomez, Fortlage’s recent success has vaulted him up the WAGR, moving from 252nd at the end of the fall to 190th.
Stockdale played in all four fall events for the Hogs, two as an individual, and he tied Fortlage for the team lead with three rounds at par or better.
Palmas Del Mar Collegiate
Feb. 9-11, 2025
Humacao, Puerto Rico – Palmas Del Mar Golf Club (72)
Host: UNC Greensboro
Format: 5 count 4
Team Field:
Arkansas
Boston College
Butler
Drexel
Indiana
Kennesaw State
Maryland
Michigan
Nebraska
UNC Greensboro
North Texas
Rutgers
TCU
Virginia Tech
Razorback Lineup:
Thomas Curry
Gerardo Gomez
John Daly II
Matthis Lefevre
Erich Fortlage
Mark Stockdale (Ind.)
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