Press Release from Louisiana Athletics
LAFAYETTE – Burke Alford recorded an even-par 72 while Eli Ortego earned his 13th career top-20 finish as the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Golf team wrapped up play on Tuesday in the 39th annual Louisiana Classics at Oakbourne Country Club.
Texas A&M repeated as tournament champion for the third consecutive year, posting a 54-hole team score of 833 to finish 17 strokes in front of second-place Sam Houston (850). LSU (855), Wake Forest (861) and SMU (864) rounded out the top-five in the 14-school field.
Louisiana, which was led by Ortego’s 1-over-par 217, moved up two spots to 13th in the final standings after recording a 6-over 294 to finish at 887.
Ortego, who posted identical rounds of even-par 72 during Monday’s opening day, fired a 1-over-73 in the final round and finished tied for 18th overall – his second top-20 finish on his home course and fourth top-20 performance during the 2023-24 campaign.
Alford, who struggled in Monday’s first two rounds (76-79-155) posted the top score in the final round for Louisiana and finished at 227 overall. Malan Potgieter (76-70-76-222) finished second overall in the Ragin’ Cajuns lineup with Jake Marler (74-77-73-224) following.
Dylan Keating (74-75-76-225) rounded out the Louisiana lineup with Maximilian Feistmantl (74-75-76-225) finishing as the Ragin’ Cajuns top individual. Freshmen Matthew Lotz (83-74-75-232) and Dillon Barnard (78-79-78-235), both competing as individuals, rounded out the scoring for Louisiana.
Texas A&M’s Phichaksn Maichon posted a 7-under-65 in the final round to tie the 54-hole scoring record (198) set by former teammate Sam Bennett in 2022. His eight-stroke win (64-69-65-198) over Michigan’s Hunter Thomson (68-66-72-206) was the largest margin of victory in Louisiana Classics history.
Maichon and Thomson were joined on the Louisiana Classics All-Tournament team by Gustav Frimodt of TCU, Texas A&M’s Daniel Rodrigues, Niilo Maki-Petaja of Louisiana Techand Sam Houston’s Hugo Trommetter.
Louisiana will return to action beginning on Monday when it travels to Humble, Texas to compete in the All-American Intercollegiate at the Golf Club of Houston.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (@RaginCajunsGolf) or check RaginCajuns.com for Louisiana golf updates.
39th ANNUAL LOUISIANA CLASSICS
March 11-12, 2024
Lafayette, La. (Oakbourne Country Club)
Par 72, 6,898 yards
TEAM SCORING
1. Texas A&M 276-282-275-833; 2. Sam Houston 283-289-278-850; 3. LSU 286-279-290-855; 4. Wake Forest 289-282-290-861; 5. SMU 293-280-291-864; 6. Michigan 284-286-295-865; 7. Louisiana Tech 290-287-294-871; 8. Wake Forest (B) 285-291-296-872; 9. Texas State 289-290-295-874; 10. TCU 290-289-297-876; 11. Rice 292-294-291-877; 12. Little Rock 291-294-293-878; T13. Louisiana 296-294-294-884; T13. South Alabama 288-295-301-884; 15. Illinois State 291-292-304-887.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. Phichaksn Maichon (Texas A&M) 64-69-65-198; 2. Hunter Thomson (Michigan) 68-66-72-206; 3. Gustav Frimodt (TCU) 69-68-71-208; T4. Daniel Rodrigues (Texas A&M) 70-72-68-210; T4. Niilo Maki-Petaja (Louisiana Tech) 72-68-70-210; T4. Hugo Trommetter (Sam Houston) 71-69-70-210; T7. Gene Chaikangwal (Sam Houston) 69-77-66-212; T7. Marshall Meisel (Wake Forest) 71-70-71-212; T7. Jay Mendell (LSU) 70-68-74-212; 10. Jamie Montojo (Texas A&M) 70-71-72-213.
LOUISIANA INDIVIDUALS (I – competing as an individual)
T18. Eli Ortego 72-72-73-217; T45. Malan Potgieter 76-70-76-222; T58. Jake Marler 74-77-73-224; T68. Dylan Keating 74-75-76-225; T68. Maximilian Feistmantl (I) 74-75-76-225; T74. Burke Alford 76-79-72-227; T81. Matthew Lotz (I) 83-74-75-232; T84. Dillon Barnard (I) 78-79-78-235.