LITTLE ROCK — Will Hogan was chatting with his father next to a large scoreboard at Little Rock’s Chenal Country Club on Tuesday afternoon, not concerned with his standing in a tournament he thought he had let slip away, when he learned he had actually won.
The Missouri State senior finished his final round of the UALR/First Tee Collegiate Classic at Chenal’s Bear Den Course a bit earlier in a group that included Southeastern Louisiana’s Philipp Westermann, one of two players with whom Hogan was tied entering Tuesday’s final round.
When Hogan’s 2-over-par 74 for a three-round total of even-par 216 was finished, he thought Tuesday’s rough start had pushed him out of contention.
“Philipp’s one of the best players in he country,” he said.
But while chatting with his dad, Hogan didn’t realize he was tied with Westermann as the German headed to the par-3, 17th hole.
Hogan missed seeing Westermann’s tee shot go long of the green and bounce into the water on his way to a double bogey. Then Westermann’s second shot on the par-4, No. 18 was short of a raised green, and his par left him with a third-round 76 and a third-place 218.
Stephen F. Austin’s Mitchell McLeroy shot a 73 on Tuesday to finish in second place at 217. Sam Houston State’s Scott Kelly, who entered Tuesday in a three-way tie for the lead with Hogan and Westermann, shot an 80and finished in a four-way tie for fourth at 222.
Hogan, who was born in Hope and has an aunt who lives in Little Rock, was 4 over through the first 10 holes Tuesday. Like Westermann, Hogan double-bogeyed 17 after his tee shot with a 7-iron went right of the fairway. But Hogan started on No. 10, so he had time to make up ground after his flub on 17.
He was 2 under the rest of the day and edged out Westermann, whose 71.95 per-round average before the tournament ranked 90th in NCAA Division I, and a charging McLeroy, who shot a 73 on Tuesday.
“I was almost positive [Westermann] would come inwith a score almost even or better, but I was fortunate,” Hogan said. “Just lucky to win.”
Westermann didn’t win individual honors, but he helped the Lions win the team trophy. Southeastern Louisiana’s 304 was its worst of the three rounds, but its 887 was 13 strokes better than second-place Sam Houston State (900).
Oral Roberts (904) finished third and UALR (909) was fourth, while Louisiana-Monroe and Stephen F. Austin (910) tied for fifth in the 16-team field. Arkansas State finished 15th with a 942.
UALR freshman Colby Benton, competing individually, had the Trojans’ lowestscore. After shooting a 75 and 73 on Monday, his 76 on Tuesday gave him a 224 and he finished in a three-way tie for 12th.
UALR’s Alfred Kerstis, also a freshman, followed his first-round 71 with a secondround 79 on Monday. He shot a 75 on Tuesday for a 225 and tied for 15th place.
“He was disappointed in yesterday’s round, but his big thing, as a freshman, is learning patience,” UALR Coach Wyn Norwood said. “When you make a mistake, you want to make it up real quick. You’ve got to be patient, make sure you don’t make another one. He made a couple of them [Tuesday].”
Tuesday marked the final time Norwood would coach in the tournament he started in 1993.
The 20-year veteran of UALR announced his retirement in November, making this his final season. But he said there wasn’t much reminiscing during the final day of the 19th annual tournament, considering another month remains before the Sun Belt Championships at Muscle Shoals, Ala., and he’ll most likely be around next season for the tournament as a spectator.
The Collegiate Classic, Norwood said, has raised more than $100,000 over the past eight years for First Tee of Arkansas through sponsorships.
“I’m going to miss it, but at the same time, you’ve got to draw the line somewhere,” he said. “I told my team, ‘I can’t do this forever.’ This seems like as good of a time as ever.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 03/28/2012