CHOUDRANT, La. Junior Taylor Coffman won the first tournament of his career and led the University of Nevada's men's golf team to a tie for fifth at the Louisiana Tech Squire Creek Classic, held Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 13-14 at the par 72, 7,105-yard Squire Creek Country Club.
Coffman carded a career-low, six-under 66 in Tuesday’s final round to finish in first place in the 88-player field with a three-round total of nine-under 207 (73-68-66). He turned in a one-stroke victory over Louisiana Tech’s Matthew Harvey and Mississippi’s Joe David who both finished at eight-under 208. Coffman’s previous best finish was a second-place showing at the Barona Collegiate Cup in 2006. In that tournament, he finished in a tie for first but lost a playoff.
Nevada carded an even-par 288 in the final round and finished in a tie for fifth with Louisiana-Lafayette at two-under 862 (295-279-288). New Orleans won the 16-team Squire Creek Classic, besting LSU in a playoff after finishing tied for first with the Tigers at 11-under 853. Mississippi finished third (856), Louisville was fourth (859) and Nevada and Louisiana-Lafayette tied for fifth (862) to round out the top five teams.
In addition to Coffman, junior Jared Becher shot his second straight round of one-under 71 on Tuesday and tied for 30th at three-over 219 (77-71-71). Junior Ryan Hallisey ended up tied for 39th at five-over 221 (74-67-80), while sophomore Scott Smith finished one stroke behind and in a tie for 47th at six-over 222 (71-73-78). Junior Greg Wenzel rounded out the Wolf Pack lineup with a tie for 82nd (81-77-73=231).
The Wolf Pack will return to action on Oct. 27-28, wrapping up its fall season at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate in Las Cruces, N.M. New Mexico State will play host to the tournament at its University Golf Course.
