The Lion’s Roar / File photo
Eamon Bradley concentrates as he prepares to putt. Bradley led the Lions with a score of seven-under par at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate tournament . 

The Lions golf team kicked off their season on a high note as they took first place at the 12th Annual Sam Hall Intercollegiate. This is the third time the Lions have won the tournament, which makes them the first team to accomplish this. 

The tournament in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, began Monday, Sept. 8 and concluded the following day. 

Southeastern had a hot start out of the gate to begin the tournament. Junior Eamon Bradley led the Lions on day one with a score of seven-under par. Bradley was solid on both of his rounds on Monday. The Scotland native hit 68 in round one and followed that up with a 67 in round two. The combination of the scores earned Bradley the second overall spot on the leaderboard. Joining Eamon in the top 10 was Gustavo Leon and Paul Obermann, who finished tied for third and eighth respectively. These strong performances, along with the rest of the squad, gave Southeastern the lead after the first day of action. Behind them in second at the end of the first day was the host, Southern Mississippi University. The performance from Leon was specifically encouraging to Head Coach Tim Baldwin, as the Venezuelan is a newcomer to the team.

“[Leon] has been having trouble with the language and transitioning to the student-athlete life, but we kind of knew he would take off,” said Baldwin.

Heading into day two of the tournament, the Lions were forced with the task of holding off the rest of the field of teams from taking their lead. Bradley continued to be effective for the Lions in his final round. Although it was his highest score of the tournament, his score of 71 in the final round was enough to garner him second place overall. Placing first overall was Casey Fernandez of SMU. 

Other Lions also came in clutch in the final round. Leon carded a 68 in round three to finish one stroke behind Bradley, while Obermann hit ‘70s in all three rounds to end tied for eighth. Joining Obermann in eighth place was fellow Lion Baptiste Courtachon. The senior posted a career high at the tournament.

“This course fit Baptiste very well. His short game was pretty well this week,” said Baldwin.

The Lion golf season stretches all the way late into the spring semester. Baldwin believes the winning start is a good sign for the team.

“It shows signs that the guys are motivated and are willing put in the effort this season,” said Baldwin. 

The Lions will next see action when they travel to Iowa for the Golfweek Conference Challenge. For a full schedule and more news on Lions golf, go to lionsports.net.