April 19, 2011
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Jeff Rein said there wasn’t anything spectacular about his performance in Tuesday’s final round of the Heartland Conference Men’s Golf Championship.
That might be true only if you discount where he finished.
The St. Mary’s senior placed second at the tournament, earning his third straight top-two finish at the event in three seasons with the Rattlers.
Rein (Sr., San Antonio), who won the championship as a sophomore, shot 70 on Tuesday at the Teravista Golf Club for a three-round score of 214.
Teammate Matt Vela (Sr., San Antonio), who won the event last year, finished in a tie for third at 217 hours before being named the Heartland Conference Men’s Golfer of the Year.
“It sounds pretty good,” Vela said of the honor. “It could have been in anybody’s hands. We all know Jeff has had a great season and was just as deserving.”
Rein and Vela each made the All-Heartland Conference First Team, while junior Sam Jernigan, a San Antonio native, made the second team.
For Rein, his second-place finish fueled St. Mary’s to fourth place as a team, which should be enough to earn the Rattlers another trip to the regional tournament.
“It’s good; I played well,” said Rein, who registered just a single bogey in the third and final round. “Obviously, I want to win, but I played pretty well. I can’t complain.
“I had a ball plug up under the lip on 8 on the second-to last hole, but that happens. It was just bad luck. I played pretty solid all day.”
Jernigan finished 13th after carding a three-round score of 223, while Chris Becker (Jr., San Antonio) tied for 21st at 233. Tim Paiz (So., San Antonio) shot 260.
Newman’s Noah Smithson won the individual crown and led the Jets to the team title. Smithson finished at 212.