La Quinta, Calif. – The Stetson University men's golf team closed out play in the Al Geiberger Invitational on Tuesday with an even par team round in its final competition tune-up before the ASUN Championship.
 
It is the first time this year that the Hatters have posted a team score of even par or better. The last time Stetson broke par as a team was at the 2016 Donald Ross Intercollegiate.
 
The Hatters were led on Tuesday by junior Baylor Payne, who bounced back from an opening round 84 on Monday to post scored of 73 and 70 in the final two rounds.
 
Junior Tate Smith also posted an under par round on Tuesday, finishing with a 71. Smith was the high finisher for the Hatters, tying for 29^th in the field, which included 70 players from 12 schools.
 
The event was played on the PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course.
 
Brigham Young and Santa Clara tied for the team title with matching scores of 856. The Cougars closed the tournament with a six-under par score of 282 on Tuesday to make up a two-stroke deficit to tie for the title. The host team from Loyola Marymount finished two shots off the lead in third with Fresno State another shot back in fourth.
 
BYU had a chance to win the tournament outright, taking a four-shot lead to the 18^th hole. A double bogey by Patrick Fishburn gave Santa Clara a chance and the Broncos posted a pair of birdies to make up the other two shots to tie for the tournament title.
 
Fresno State's Alex Lee held off the challenge of Santa Clara's Hayden Shieh and Derek Ackerman to take medalist honors. Lee's final round 73 was just enough, paired with his pair of 68s on Monday, to edge Shieh by one shot and Ackerman by two. Shieh posted a final round 68 to make up five shots while Ackerman finished with a 69
 
Overall the tournament saw 21 rounds in the 60s by 17 different payers.
 
For Stetson, Tate's final round 71 was almost flawless. He had two birdies and just one bogey on the day. He finished the event with six birdies and nine bogeys. His six birdies came on six different holes.
 
Redshirt sophomore Jake Ludwick took advantage of his return to the lineup for the Hatters with a seven-over par score of 223, tied for 39^th overall. He was unable to find a single birdie in the first round, but opened his second round on Monday with three birdies on his first five holes. He finished the event with seven birdies, eight bogeys and three doubles.
 
Payne struggled out of the gate on Monday, making the turn on the first round at nine over par. He made one birdie on the back, but closed with consecutive doubles for a season-high round of 84. He bounced back from that with an eagle on his second hole in the second round, making the turn at even par. A double on his 17^th hole of the round left him with a second round 73. Payne's final round included four birdies and two bogeys.
 
Senior Chase Levesque had a solid opening day on Monday with scored of 76 and 74, but finished with a 78 on Tuesday to tie for 51^st with a 12-over par score of 228. He finished the event with seven birdies, 17 bogeys and one double.
 
Like Payne, sophomore Chris Williard got off to a slow start with an 83 in the opening round of play, but improved to a 78 in the second round before finishing on Tuesday with a one-over 73. He was three under par over his final nine holes for the event and finished with six birdies, 14 bogeys and five doubles. His final score of 18-over 234 tied for 64^th in the event.
 
The Hatters will now turn their focus toward the ASUN Championship, which will be played in two weeks at The Legends Course at Chateau Elan in Braselton, Ga. That event is scheduled for April 22-24.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.