Razorbacks win in Houston

HUMBLE, Texas – Ethan Tracy and Austin Cook each shot rounds of even par, 72, to lead the Arkansas Razorback men’s golf team to a team title at the Redstone Challenge at the Red Stone Golf Club in Humble, Texas on Saturday morning.

Arkansas picks up where it left off last season where it finished as the NCAA runner-up. The team title is the first of the 2009-10 season after the Razorbacks picked up two runner-up finishes during the fall season.

"It was nice to get outdoors," Arkansas head coach Brad McMakin said. "It was good to work on our short game because we really need to work on that. It was good to see where we stand and I felt like our ball striking was good and to win was a good confidence builder.

Tracy opened the round with a 38 on the front nine, but rallied over the final nine holes with a tournament best 34 to finish with his even par score. Cook took the opposite approach to his even par round with a 35 on the front nine and 37 on the back side of the course.

"It was nice to see Ethan and Austin play well," McMakin said. "Ethan’s round was a good confidence builder and Austin is an impressive player that needs to develop his short game."

The play of Tracy and Cook led a 2-2-6-T7-T13 Arkansas finish as the Hogs shot a plus seven, 295, to win the competition by two strokes over Houston, 297, and nine over Houston Baptist, 304.

Arkansas’ fall leader David Lingmerth finished sixth overall with a three over par, 75. Lingmerth shot 39 on the front side and rebounded with a 36 on the back nine. Jamie Marshall, tied for seventh, struggled on the opening nine with a 42, but matched his teammate, Tracy, for the best score on the back side with a 34 for a four over 76.

Dalton Owens rounded out Arkansas’ scoring with a seven over, 79, to finish tied for 13. Josh Eure, playing as an individual, shot five over, 75.

The Razorbacks are back on the course beginning on Valentine’s Day at the Battle on the Beach in Calif., their first three-round tournament of the spring.