McMurry golfers hold off HSU for title

By TED DUNNAM
Assistant Sports Editor

Even though there was plenty of wind whipping through Fairway Oaks Country Club Tuesday, winning a golf tournament was anything but a breeze for the McMurry Indians.

Head coach Tommy Estes' team held off a charge by Hardin-Simmons University in final round play to claim a two-stroke victory over the Cowboys for a third consecutive Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association men's golf title.

HSU, though, did emerge with one title as J.D. Rankin fired his third consecutive 77 to win medalist honors by two strokes over McMurry's Josh Long.

McMurry's best round of the day came from Greg Sigler, who shot 79 in the blustery conditions. Ironically, in near-ideal conditions yesterday, Sigler shot 87.

"I felt I had something to prove today," Sigler said. "I think I hit it as well yesterday as I did today. I just managed to get it in the hole a little quicker today.

"The wind was tough. I tried to keep the ball low, but that didn't always happen. We didn't have a target score today - we just wanted to go out and play as well as we could. We knew it would be close."

McMurry's Estes also anticipated a neck-and-neck finish with HSU.

"With our last player coming in, I thought we had four-stroke lead instead of a three-stroke lead," Estes said. "I'm glad we held on. I thought we played pretty well, but I still think we can play better."

McMurry fired a final-round 321 while HSU shot 317.

"I was proud of our guys," HSU head coach Jeff Goodin said. "They knew they had to come back and play good today and they did. J.D. shot two pretty solid back-to-back rounds.

"Our third round hurt us yesterday, but I was pleased with the way we played today."
Rankin's three consecutive 77s were a mark of consistency.

"A consistent struggle," he said. "The wind made it tough to control the ball and tough to putt. But considering the conditions, I thought I played pretty well today.

"We knew if everybody could shoot under 80, we'd have a chance to win, but it didn't quite happen."

McMurry finished with a 1,255 total, HSU followed at 1,257 and Austin College was third with a 1,274 total.

• Team totals - 1. McMurry 300-315-319-321-1,255; 2. Hardin-Simmons 301-313-326-317-1,257; 3. Austin College 303-325-318-328-1,274; 4. Howard Payne 300-321-339-335-1,295; 5. University of Dallas 448-419.
• Medalists - 1. J.D. Rankin, Hardin-Simmons, 73-77-77-77-304; 2. Josh Long, McMurry, 74-79-73-80-306; 3. Eric Montgomery, Austin College, 73-78-77-80-308; 4. Jason Hutt, McMurry, 70-78-80-81-309; 5. Corbin Edmondson, Hardin-Simmons, 79-76-79-79-313.
• McMurry - Josh Long 74-79-73-80-306; Jason Hutt 70-78-80-81-309; Greg Sigler 78-79-87-79-323; Regan King 78-81-79-86-324; Ryan King 85-79-90-81-335.
• Hardin-Simmons - J.D. Rankin 73-77-77-77-304; Paul Briggs 74-87-81-81-323; Corbin Edmondson 79-76-79-79-313; Doug Hand 75-78-91-80-324; Jason Whatley 80-82-89-89-340.
• Austin College - Keith Strickland 78-82-78-80-318; Joe Cunningham 74-80-86-82-322; Eric Montgomery 73-78-77-80-308; Christian Morgia 78-85-77-86-326; Mark Kellogg 84-93-90-99-366.
• Howard Payne - Scott Tibbitts 73-81-81-79-314; Jeff Armstreet 72-79-85-83-319; Greg Garrison 77-83-NS-NS; Jerad Martin NS-NS-95-94; Jonathen Aken 78-81-84-83-326; Randy Young 91-80-89-90-350.
• University of Dallas - John Barry 105-104-209; Wes Colvin 113-98-211; Ronnie Teimann 108-100-208; Brian Kurts 122-117-239; Jason Pyka 135-143-278.