The St. Mary’s Men’s Golf team will compete in the annual Midwestern State Invitational at the Wichita Falls Country Club on Monday and Tuesday. This is the 12th time the Rattlers have participated in this tournament, dating back to 2011.
Key Details About the Tournament
- Tournament History: The Rattlers have been part of the Midwestern State Invitational since 2011, with the tournament alternating between the fall and spring each year. In 2015, the team won the title when the event was held in the fall.
- Team Lineup: The Rattlers will be represented by:
- Baptiste Touchard
- Kongpop Kaikaew
- Elijah Galvan
- Guillaume Paquette
- Philip Hallstrom
- Zach Seader and Connor Smith will compete as individuals.
- First Round: The Rattlers will play in foursomes alongside golfers from Colorado School of Mines, Cameron, and Washburn. The first round will start with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m., with the Rattlers on holes four through seven.
The Tournament Field
The field will include teams from:
- Cameron
- Colorado School of Mines
- #17 DBU
- Lubbock Christian
- Midland
- #23 Midwestern State (host)
- New Mexico JC
- Odessa
- Southern Nazarene
- Southwestern Oklahoma State
- #9 St. Mary’s
- Texas A&M International
- UT Dallas
- #25 UT Permian Basin
- Washburn
- Western New Mexico
- Westminster
Weather Forecast
- Monday: Mostly sunny, temperatures in the mid-70s with winds between 16-18 mph.
- Tuesday: Sunny, temperatures in the mid-80s with winds between 16-18 mph.
Recent Performance and Rankings
- St. Mary’s Ranking: The team remains 9th in the GCAA Coaches Poll (as of March 6), maintaining a top 25 ranking for nine consecutive polls.
- Las Vegas Desert Classic: The Rattlers finished 13th at the Las Vegas Desert Classic, with Baptiste Touchard and Elijah Galvan tying for 27th place at +3 (219).
- Rattler Invitational: The Rattlers placed second at the Rattler Invitational at Dominion Country Club, with Kongpop Kaikaew finishing 4th with an even-par 216.
Record-Breaking Performances
- Second Round of the Skip Wagnon Invitational: The Rattlers shot a 264, breaking the school’s single-round record by four strokes. Their 806 in the tournament broke the 54-hole tournament record, surpassing the previous best of 833 set in 2004 at the St. Edward’s Invitational.
- Kongpop Kaikaew’s Record: Kongpop Kaikaew set a new 54-hole individual record with a 197, breaking his own record of 198 from last year.
Team Leadership
- Leadership Strength: One of the Rattlers’ biggest strengths is their ability to have different players step up and lead. Kongpop Kaikaew and Baptiste Touchard have each led the team seven times, while Philip Hallstrom has been the low scorer five times.
Guillaume Paquette has done so four times, and Elijah Galvan led the team for the first time in his career at the Las Vegas Desert Classic.
