Maki-Petaja finishes 27th at NCAA Regional
Tech freshman golfer Niilo Maki-Petaja was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year. Photo by Kane McGuire
Louisiana Tech’s Niilo Maki-Petaja capped off his freshman campaign by tying for 27th at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, hosted by LSU at the University Club.
On a hot Wednesday afternoon, Maki-Petaja shot 76 (+4) in his third and final round, finishing with a scorecard of 71-73-76–220 (+4). It was a day that had just two birdies to go along with four bogeys.
The Bulldog was able to scramble early to card four straight pars to start his round. The first blemish on the scorecard came on the Par 5 No. 5 when he three-putted for bogey.
However, Maki-Petaja got that stroke back on the Par 6 No. 6, a hole that he had made eagle and birdie the previous two rounds. He hit his wedge shot to 10 feet and made birdie.
After two more pars, a missed fairway and a missed green resulted in a bogey on the Par 4 No. 9, giving Maki-Petaja a 37 on the front.
He started off the back with a par and then got his redemption on the Par 5 No. 11, a hole where he made double bogey the previous day. Despite missing the fairway left, he was able to get the ball on the green in three shots and then sink the birdie putt from about six feet.
It was a tough home stretch though for the Bulldog with some bad luck, ending his round by making bogey on four of the last five holes.
“I am proud of Niilo’s effort that he gave us this week and all year,” Tech head coach Matt Terry said. “ It was hard watching him finish the way he did today because I know how bad he wanted to do well. He will learn a lot from this week and the whole year. It will be exciting to see his progression over these next few months leading into next fall.”
The week did have a highlight for Maki-Petaja, with the freshman bringing in plenty of postseason awards, including being named as the Conference USA Freshman of the Year.
Maki-Petaja is the third Bulldog in program history to earn conference Freshman of the Year honors. He was named First Team All-CUSA and a member of the CUSA All-Freshman Team.
“I stuck to my targets today. Did not have my best, but it was not meant to be coming down the stretch. It was a tough finish,” Maki-Petaja said. “There were still a lot of positives today and this whole week. “I’m already looking forward to getting better for next season.”
