The Rattlers finished second in the Heartland Conference Men’s Golf Championship Tournament, held April 21-22, at the Meadow Lake Acres Country Club in New Bloomfield, Missouri. St. Mary’s now awaits news of a bid to the Regional Tournament.
Drury won with a three round total of 886, 22-over par. Drury led wire to wire, having a one stroke lead after the first round, jumping to a 13-shot lead after the second round before finishing 15 shots better than St. Mary’s. The Rattlers, third after the first round and tied for second after the second round, finished with a three-round total of 901, 37-over. Drury and St. Mary’s have won two Heartland golf championships each. St. Mary’s won the 2000 and 2002 titles while Drury won the 2001 crown in addition to this year’s tournament.
Drury’s Bryce Wassersleben shot a 70 on the final day to win the individual title by one stroke. Wassersleben, who was sixth after the second round, finished at three-over 219, one shot ahead of Lincoln’s Brent Bayer, the day two co-leader. Two Drury golfers tied for third, two shots behind the winner. And St. Mary’s Luke Antonelli, the other day two co-leader, shot a 79 on the last day to finish fifth, five shots out of the lead. The Rattlers’ Saare Adams finished tied for sixth at nine-over, Ryan Villareal finished tied for 10th at 10-over, Braden Graham was 15th at 14-over and Greg McAuley was tied for 18th at 16-over.
The D-II playoff structure has a total of 80 teams competing in a total of ten regional tournaments. Five “super regional” sites will host two simultaneous regional tournaments each. The Rattlers, ranked 18th in the nation, are currently ranked first in the South Central region, which will share a regional site with the South Region. The South and South Central Regionals will be held May 5-7 at the Turtle Point Country Club in Florence, Ala. Other Heartland teams ranked in South Central Top Ten as of April 17th are #3 Dury and #10 Lincoln.