Troy University Athletics
Wednesday, April 23
Madison, Miss.
All Day
Troy University
vs
Sun Belt Championship
Men’s Golf Advances to SBC Match Play Semifinals
4/23/2025 8:15:00 PM | Golf (M)
MADISON, Miss. – Troy needed to shoot its best round of the week at the Sun Belt Conference Championship, and the Trojans did just that, carding 19 birdies and an eagle to shoot 7-under and clinch a spot in Thursday's match play semifinals.
Troy finished fourth in stroke play and will take on Coastal Carolina in the semifinals, while Arkansas State and Georgia Southern will match up in the other semifinal. The winners will meet Thursday afternoon for the Sun Belt title.
Thursday's semifinal will be the third head-to-head match-up between the Trojans and Chanticleers this season. Troy defeated Coastal by 21 strokes (without Brantley Scott in the lineup) at the Old Corkscrew Invitational 15 days ago, while the Chants held an 8-stroke advantage over Troy at the SBC Championship. Troy did not face Arkansas State or Georgia Southern during the season prior to this week.
The Trojans entered the day tied for fourth on the leaderboard with Louisiana and only a shot up on Texas State. The three schools played together in Wednesday's final round and began on the back nine of the course.
Troy raced out to 4-under after two holes and made the turn at 6-under as a team to grab hold of sole possession of fourth. The Trojans held serve on their back nine, shooting 1-under to hold off the Bobcats, Cajuns and a surging James Madison.
Jake Springer paced Troy in the final round with five birdies en route to a 3-under 69, his second red number of the tournament. Springer closed the week in a tie for seventh place, just two shots off the pace.
One of the golfers in front of Springer was his teammate Brantley Scott, who shot 5-under for the week and tied for third after carding a 70 thanks to four birdies, three of which came on his first nine holes of the day.
Scott has now played nine of his 18 rounds this spring in the red, while Springer improved his total to 14-of-33 for the season. Troy shot under-par as a team in two of the third rounds to push its season total to 15 under-par rounds as a team out of 33 overall rounds.
Nick Fowlkes added four birdies to the Troy cause to shoot 70 for the Trojans' third under-par round of the day as he climbed into a tie for 25th place, while Pablo Gracia added four birdies in a round of 72 to finish tied for 34th and Lee Poppell closed with two birdies and an eagle as he tied for 50th following a 73.
Pairings for match play will be determined Thursday morning when the head coaches for both squads will alternate their picks. The first players will be on the course beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Team Standings
1. Coastal Carolina 285-285-280—850, 2. Arkansas State 278-288-285—851, 3. Georgia Southern 288-284-284—856, 4. Troy 286-291-281—858, 5. James Madison 286-296-280—862, 6. Texas State 297-281-285—863, 7. Louisiana 286-291-287—864, 8. Southern Miss 290-297-281—868, 9. South Alabama 296-297-278—871, 10. Georgia State 293-289-296—878, 11. Marshall 297-298-284—879, 12. ULM 292-292-296—880, 13. Old Dominion 301-293-292—886, 14. App State 296-300-295—891
Troy Individuals
T3. Brantley Scott 69-72-70—211, T7. Jake Springer 71-72-69—212, T24. Nick Fowlkes 74-73-70—217, T34. Pablo Gracia 72-75-72—219, T50. Lee Poppell 75-74-73—222
Troy finished fourth in stroke play and will take on Coastal Carolina in the semifinals, while Arkansas State and Georgia Southern will match up in the other semifinal. The winners will meet Thursday afternoon for the Sun Belt title.
Thursday's semifinal will be the third head-to-head match-up between the Trojans and Chanticleers this season. Troy defeated Coastal by 21 strokes (without Brantley Scott in the lineup) at the Old Corkscrew Invitational 15 days ago, while the Chants held an 8-stroke advantage over Troy at the SBC Championship. Troy did not face Arkansas State or Georgia Southern during the season prior to this week.
The Trojans entered the day tied for fourth on the leaderboard with Louisiana and only a shot up on Texas State. The three schools played together in Wednesday's final round and began on the back nine of the course.
Troy raced out to 4-under after two holes and made the turn at 6-under as a team to grab hold of sole possession of fourth. The Trojans held serve on their back nine, shooting 1-under to hold off the Bobcats, Cajuns and a surging James Madison.
Jake Springer paced Troy in the final round with five birdies en route to a 3-under 69, his second red number of the tournament. Springer closed the week in a tie for seventh place, just two shots off the pace.
One of the golfers in front of Springer was his teammate Brantley Scott, who shot 5-under for the week and tied for third after carding a 70 thanks to four birdies, three of which came on his first nine holes of the day.
Scott has now played nine of his 18 rounds this spring in the red, while Springer improved his total to 14-of-33 for the season. Troy shot under-par as a team in two of the third rounds to push its season total to 15 under-par rounds as a team out of 33 overall rounds.
Nick Fowlkes added four birdies to the Troy cause to shoot 70 for the Trojans' third under-par round of the day as he climbed into a tie for 25th place, while Pablo Gracia added four birdies in a round of 72 to finish tied for 34th and Lee Poppell closed with two birdies and an eagle as he tied for 50th following a 73.
Pairings for match play will be determined Thursday morning when the head coaches for both squads will alternate their picks. The first players will be on the course beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Team Standings
1. Coastal Carolina 285-285-280—850, 2. Arkansas State 278-288-285—851, 3. Georgia Southern 288-284-284—856, 4. Troy 286-291-281—858, 5. James Madison 286-296-280—862, 6. Texas State 297-281-285—863, 7. Louisiana 286-291-287—864, 8. Southern Miss 290-297-281—868, 9. South Alabama 296-297-278—871, 10. Georgia State 293-289-296—878, 11. Marshall 297-298-284—879, 12. ULM 292-292-296—880, 13. Old Dominion 301-293-292—886, 14. App State 296-300-295—891
Troy Individuals
T3. Brantley Scott 69-72-70—211, T7. Jake Springer 71-72-69—212, T24. Nick Fowlkes 74-73-70—217, T34. Pablo Gracia 72-75-72—219, T50. Lee Poppell 75-74-73—222
Players Mentioned
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