KANSAS CITY, Mo. (May 8, 2021) - Central Missouri Mules Golf is heading back to the NCAA National Championships. The Mules punched their ticket by winning the 2021 NCAA Central Region Championship. It's their first regional title since 2017.
The Mules got out to a big lead after day one and led throughout. Although the Mules didn't have their best day in round three, the lead they built still led to a comfortable team win. For three rounds, UCM scored a -5, 847, winning by 17 strokes over second place Indianapolis. The Mules had the two lowest rounds in the tournament with a -9, 275 in round two and a -5, 279 in round one. They finished the tournament with a +9, 293 in round three.
This is the Mules third straight team win this season and their sixth overall.
Central Missouri did everything well for three days. They led the field in total birdies with 59. They also had the lowest team scoring average on both par-three and par-five holes averaging 3.17 on par-three and 4.40 on par-five.
Matt Hoemann was crowned the individual NCAA Central Region Champion with a three-round total of -8, 205. Hoemann led all golfers in today's final round shooting five under par. Overall, Hoemann shot 69, 70, and 66 to win the Mules first individual regional title since Robby Hughey in 2013.
Finishing four strokes behind Hoemann for the runner-up finish was
Ian Barnes. Barnes led the competition through the regional's opening round, shooting a round-low total of -4, 67. Barnes moved into second-place after the completion of round two where he shot -2, 69. Barnes finished the tournament with a 73 which was good enough to keep him in the tournament's top-two with a 54-hole total of -4, 209.
Following Hoemann and Barnes was the MIAA Freshman of the Year
Thomas Henson in a two-way tie for third place. After leading the field through 36-holes, Henson fell into third with a third round score of 76. Henson recorded round totals of 70, 64, and 76 to shoot -a 3, 210 total. His second-round score of -7, 64 was the lowest 54-hole total of the tournament. He also led the Mules making 18 total birdies.
Nick Westrich finished the tournament in a tie for 41st place. He had rounds of 73, 72 and 79 for a +11, 224 total. Westrich finished with eight birdies and 31 pars. He closed out the tournament playing well at one-under-par on his final four holes.
Sam Parrott got off a good start in round three and was even-par through his first eight holes. He finished the day seven-over-par and placed 56th overall with a +16, 229. Like Westrich, Parrott also made eight birdies during the tournament.
The Mules were one of four teams to qualify for the National Championships from the Central Region. The top four teams all advance. In addition to UCM, Indianapolis, Arkansas Tech and Washburn will take part in the national tournament. Also making it as an individual is Luke Palmowski of Rogers State. Those four teams will make up part of a 16-team field national championship May 17-21 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The top-four teams all advance to the NCAA National Championship May 17-21 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Henderson State sits third and Arkansas Tech is in fourth.
The Central Region Championship was played at Shoal Creek Golf Club in Kansas City, Mo. It's a par-71 course played over 6943 yards.
