Feb. 14, 2012

UTSA Oak Hills Final Results

SAN ANTONIO -Baylor men's golf senior Joakim Mikkelsen bested Texas Tech's Clement Sordet in a three-hole playoff Tuesday to take the UTSA Oak Hills Invitational individual championship.

No. 32 Baylor shot 13-over 865 to finish third overall, six strokes behind four-time UTSA Oak Hills champion Texas Tech at 7-over 859. Oklahoma finished second at 10-over 862. North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette tied for fourth at 21-over 873.

"Overall, I thought we played ok. We definitely wanted to win and we put ourselves in good position after Monday," head coach Greg Priest said. "It's a good way to start the spring semester. There are some things to build on, but we played a pretty strong field and managed to pick up some wins."

Mikkelsen shot a final-round 68 to force a playoff with Sordet before winning on the third hole. After Mikkelsen birdied No. 18 in regulation, the two golfers went to a three-hole playoff on No. 18. They tied on each of the first two tries on 18; Mikkelsen made par on his third try, while Sordet bogeyed to give the Drammen, Norway, native the victory.

"I got off to a good start Tuesday and got it to 3-under through 10 holes," Mikkelsen said. "Even after my two bogeys on the back nine, I kept going. I thought I had played my way of it until I birdied 16 and 18.

"Then in the playoff, I kept hitting good shots and hit the middle of the green the first two times," Mikkelsen said. "On the third try, I hit in the bunker, but was able to go up-and-down for par."

It was Mikkelsen's second career individual tournament title; as a sophomore, he won the Border Olympics in March 2010. Mikkelsen now has nine top-five and 16 top-10 finishes for his career.

Senior Lorenzo Scotto tied for 12th overall at 3-over 216, followed by freshman Kyle Jones in 16th at 5-over 218. Competing as an individual, redshirt freshman Niclas Mansson shot a final-round 72 to tie for 37th at 9-over 222. Juniors Jerry Ruiz (10-over 223) and Ryan O'Rear (14-over 227) tied for 42nd and 57th, respectively.

"Our goal is to starting winning some golf tournaments," Priest said. "Joakim was solid all week for us. He's been very consistent for us and his record shows. He's become someone we can lean on when we need a big round."

Baylor returns action Feb. 25-26 with the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, Calif.