SAN ANTONIO — UTSA will travel to Columbia, Missouri, for the Tiger Intercollegiate on Monday-Tuesday, April 6-7, at The Club at Old Hawthorne (par 70/7,158 yards).
The Roadrunners will carry a lineup consisting of Joshua Hong, Francisco Solorza, Logan Vargas, Brayden Bare and David Martinez for the 54-hole, stroke-play event that will be their final tuneup for the American Conference Championship on April 27-29 in Florida.
UTSA will compete against Central Arkansas, Central Michigan, Drake, Illinois State, Iowa State, No. 39 Kansas, Lamar, Missouri, Missouri State, Nebraska, Oral Roberts, Saint Mary’s, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Tarleton, UTRGV, Wichita State and Xavier.
The field will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday with an 8 a.m. shotgun start slated for both days. Live scoring can be found at scoreboard.clippd.com.
This will mark UTSA’s first appearance in the Tiger Intercollegiate. The Roadrunners have played in the Show-Me State twice previously, finishing 12th at the 2009 Mizzou Tiger Classic, which was contested at The Club at Old Hawthorne, and earning a runner-up showing at the 2003 Nestlé/Purina Classic in St. Charles.
The Roadrunners are coming off a sixth-place finish at the Bell Bank “Pay It Forward” Collegiate on March 23-24 in Arizona. Solorza tied for fifth and Hong grabbed a share of 10th to lead the way.
Solorza posted the top finish and 54-hole total of his collegiate career with a 5-under-par 211, opening with a 3-under 69 and closing with a collegiate-best 5-under 67. Hong carded a 4-under 212 to notch his fifth top 10 of the season and post a red number for the fifth time in nine events played.
Hong is flirting with UTSA’s single-season stroke average record, as the true freshman boasts a 71.52 mark through 27 rounds. Hunter Bott owns the standard with a 71.94 average form the 2023-24 campaign. Hong has turned in 17 par-or-better scorecards, including five sub-70 rounds highlighted by a school record-tying 8-under 64 at the Golden Nugget Invitational in March. Of his five top 10s, he has placed inside the top three thrice, including registering his first collegiate win at the Military City Collegiate in February.
Vargas stands second with a 73.13 scoring average over 24 rounds. The senior from Lubbock owns a dozen par-or-better scorecards and a trio of top-30 finishes, headlined by a tie for 12th with a 5-under 211 (71-73-67) at the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate.
Solorza ranks third with a 73.67 stroke average in eight tournaments this season. The redshirt freshman has heated up over his past four outings, finishing 21st or better including a pair of top 10s. He also has posted a 54-hole total in the red in three consecutive events.
Martinez carries a 73.89 stroke average through nine rounds. He tied for seventh at the Compadres Collegiate to open the spring slate and carded a 1-over 217 that was capped by a 4-under 68 in his last event, the Golden Nugget Invitational.
Bare boasts a 73.96 scoring average through 27 rounds of his redshirt junior season. The Waco native has turned in 10 par-or-better scorecards, highlighted by a collegiate-best 5-under 67 en route to a 9-under 207 for fifth at the Golden Nugget Invitational.
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