SARASOTA, Fla. — Buoyed by 3-under-par scorecards from Joshua Hong and Logan Vargas, UTSA moved up the leaderboard on the final day of the American Conference Men’s Golf Championship, which wrapped up Wednesday at Ritz-Carlton Members Club (par 72/7,417 yards).
Hong and Vargas each fired a 3-under 69 to help the Roadrunners register a 3-under 285 in the final round, their best score of the week and one that propelled them past Wichita State into ninth place in the team standings. UTSA totaled a 10-over 874 to edge the Shockers by three strokes and beat Temple (903) by 29 shots. The Roadrunners were only three back of eighth-place Florida Atlantic (871) and 10 shy of East Carolina, which finished seventh at even par (864).
Individually, Vargas was the top finisher for the Roadrunners. The senior from Lubbock earned sole possession of 20th with a 2-under 214, marking the fourth time this season he has posted a 54-hole total below par. After opening the week with a 75 on Monday, he fired a 2-under 70 in round two before notching his second sub-70 score of the season today. His final-round 69 featured birdies on three of the four par fives, as he wrote down four on the 535-yard fourth, 588-yard 11th and 559-yard 15th holes. He was bogey free on his 14th par-or-better scorecard of the campaign, while making nine birdies and playing the par fives at 6-under par for the week.
Hong was one shot behind Vargas in a tie for 21st at 1-under 215. The true freshman from Guadalajara, Mexico, followed a pair of 73s over the first 36 holes with his 69 today that was highlighted by four birdies. He circled his number on his starting hole, the 441-yard, par-4 10th, and then countered a bogey on No. 16 with three birdies over a five-hole stretch on the front side. He recorded a three on the 441-yard second, four on the 535-yard fourth and four on the 571-yard sixth to get to 3-under for the day and push his team-best birdie total to 13.
Hong’s 215 sealed up the UTSA single-season scoring average record, as he finished his debut campaign with a 71.73 mark over 33 rounds. That eclipsed Hunter Bott’s previous standard of 71.94 set over 35 rounds in 2023-24. He also matched program records with an 8-under 64 in the first round and 36-hole total of 10-under 134 at the Golden Nugget Invitational in March. Overall, he turned in 19 par-or-better scorecards, including six sub-70 rounds, and finished in the top 10 five times during his first season as a Roadrunner.
Brayden Bare grabbed a share of 39th with a 221. The redshirt junior from Waco carded a pair of 72s that were sandwiched around a 77 in Tuesday’s second round. His final scorecard of the week featured six birdies, including back-to-back on Nos. 4-5.
Francisco Solorza tied for 42nd with a 224, as the Guadalajara native opened with a 71 and then followed a 78 with a 75 in Wednesday’s final round. The redshirt freshman logged a trio of birdies over the final 18 holes to finish with six for the tournament.
Sam Acharya was subbed into the lineup for the final round and posted a 78 that included four birdies, three over a four-hole stretch on the front, putting the true freshman from Nepal in 58th place.
David Martinez played the first two rounds and registered scores of 75 and 79, good for a 154 that placed the sophomore from Houston in 55th.
No. 22 Charlotte captured the team championship with an 816, while Memphis (833), Rice (836), South Florida (840) and UAB (846) also in the top five.
Diego Do Patrocinio Lourenco won the individual title with a 14-under 202, defeating Chase Cline from Charlotte on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to claim the crown outright.
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