The Texas State men’s golf team advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Championship, where it suffered a loss at the hands of the #1 seed Arkansas State University in match play Thursday at the Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena, California.

In stroke play, the Bobcats finished 13-over 877 (303-289-285), which tied them for third place. In the final round of stroke play, Texas State moved up three spots on the leaderboard after shooting 3-under 285 and finishing tied with Marshall.

This was the best team score on the last day, and it helped the Bobcats get to match play with dominance from two players.

Texas State senior Kasper Nyland shot 3-under 69 in the final round and finished in a tie for seventh place with a score of 1-over 217 (76-72-69). Sophomore Sakke Siltala also shot 3-under 69 in the final round but finished tied for 18th after shooting 3-under 220 (73-78-69).

Senior Tom Roed Karlsen finished 2-under 142 (72-70) after substituting in during the second round. Karlsen posted an eagle on the fifth hole and two birdies in the second round, making his substitution very impactful.

Senior Marcelo Garza shot 7-over 223 (76-70-77), and junior Jack Burke shot 14-over 230 (78-75-77), with both players shooting 5-over 77 in the last round.

The Bobcats improved 18 strokes from the first to the final round and were 18 shots behind first-place Arkansas State, which was the only team to finish under par after shooting 5-under 859 (288-281-290).

After tying with Marshall for third place, the Bobcats faced Arkansas State in match play to determine the Sun Belt Conference champion. 

Texas State won its first matchup 2-1, with Karlsen coming out victorious against Arkansas State’s senior Hugo Ronnberg. The Bobcats lost the remaining four matchups to end off the semifinals with a 5-2 loss.

Arkansas State went on to face Louisiana-Monroe in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, where they eventually won 3-2 to claim the conference title.