Plumb, Bailey pace Tech in final round of Trinity Forest Invitational

Jake Plumb and Morton Bailey both shot under par Tuesday as Louisiana Tech wrapped up play at the Trinity Forest Invitational.

LA Tech shot 290 (+2) as a team in the third and final round at the Trinity Forest Golf Club, tying for ninth with a 54-hole score of four under (282-288-290—860).

It was a case of the Bulldogs not being able to overcome a slow start, combining to shoot five over through the first three holes. Plumb had the lone birdie in that stretch to offset his bogey on the opening hole.

The sophomore ultimately found his groove in the middle of his round, sinking birdies on No. 7, No. 9, and No. 10. He would match his 35 on the front with a 35 on the back to card a 70 (-2), tying his season low and registering his sixth round at or under par this season.

Bailey had to get himself out of an even bigger hole, starting par-bogey-double bogey. The freshman did just that though, making six birdies the rest of the way including a stretch of four over six holes on the back nine to shoot 71 (-1). He ended up finishing Even par, tying for 37th for the invitational (71-74-71—216).

The top Bulldog for the tournament though was Niilo Maki-Petaja.

After shooting five under and four under in rounds one and two, respectively, the sophomore finished off the event by shooting 72 (E) with 14 pars, two birdies, and two bogeys. His 207 was good enough for his second straight top 10 finish, tying for eighth among the field of 87 golfers.

Maki-Petaja now has six top 10 finishes in his last 11 events dating back to last season, this after shooting at or under par of all three rounds for the second consecutive time.

Freddie Surgey and Oskari Schuvalow each shot 77 (+5) for their final round.

UNLV ended up claiming the team title, followed by Loyola Marymount, and host SMU.

LA Tech will have a week off before returning to action Oct. 26-27 at the Steelwood Collegiate, hosted by the University of South Alabama, in Loxley, Alabama.