 O'Neill Drives Billikens to Second Place
April 11, 2006
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis senior Barry O'Neill claimed his first career tournament title by two strokes as he led SLU to a second-place finish at the Billiken Invitational this afternoon at Gateway National Golf Links. Saint Louis entered the final round in fifth place but just nine strokes behind tournament leader Austin Peay. With the winds kicking up late in the day, the last groups struggled to match the early-round scores as the Billiken surged up the board but missed catching tournament champion Western Illinois by one stroke. O'Neill was the leader heading into Tuesday's final round after shooting 71 and 69 (-2) on Monday. Just one over at the turn, he battled on the back nine to finish with a 77. It became a waiting game as his two nearest rivals were in the last to finish the round. When both players carded scores in the 80s, O'Neill had clinched the first individual title of his career. Among the other Billikens playing, freshman Collin Piercy made the biggest move of the day. After sitting in 36th place with rounds of 78 and 74, respectively, on Monday, the first-year player carded the lowest score of the final round with a 70 (-1), which put him in a tie for sixth place. Senior David Perritt moved up 12 spots to 16th place as he shot 74 Tuesday after posting 76 and 75 on Monday. John Campbell closed the tournament with a 76, following Monday's rounds of 77 and 74, to finish in 22nd place. Junior Ryan Blechle rounded out the team in 30th place, lowering his score by two strokes each round to score a 74 on Tuesday. Three Billikens competed as individuals in the tournament, and sophomore Adam Serrano led the group with a 10th-place finish as he shot 75, 75 and 73. Freshmen Riley Rindo and Stefan Ballage finished 54th and 74th, respectively. Rindo posted rounds of 76 and 75 Monday but struggled to an 82 Tuesday. Ballage opened the event with a 78 then shot 83 and 80 in the last two rounds.
The Billikens will close out their season at the Atlantic 10 Championship in Winter Garden, Fla., beginning Fri., May 5. |
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