FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas sent nine golfers onto its home course this week.
None of them finished lower than 15th.
That’ll win you the Blessings Collegiate Invitational by 22 strokes.
The Razorbacks finished three rounds Monday at 6-under-par 858.
No other team in the nine-school field broke par.
UNC Greensboro was closest at 880, which is 16 over.
North Texas took third at 891, with Southern Miss at 904 and Kansas State at 906 behind it.
Little Rock was sixth at 910, followed by Middle Tennessee State at 922, Nebraska at 927 and Oral Roberts at 932.
Maki-Petaja and Curry lead way
Every player in the Hogs’ lineup landed inside the top 10.
Niilo Maki-Petaja was the best of them, taking second at 3-under 213.
He opened with a 67, then shot 75 and 71.
He’s been a runner-up twice now, and he has 20 top-20 finishes in 38 college events.
Thomas Curry was a shot behind him in third at 214.
Curry hasn’t finished outside the top 10 this season. He tied for fifth and tied for seventh in his first two starts.
Erich Fortlage was fifth at even-par 216, his eighth career top-five finish.
He’s only played twice this season. He was runner-up the other time.
Depth shows up, but Boyce takes medal
Lev Grinberg finished sixth at 1-over 217, and Gerardo Gomez tied for 10th at 4-over 220.
Arkansas also had four golfers in the field playing as individuals.
Guus LaFeber and Cam Smith tied for seventh at 3-over 219.
LaFeber’s 69 on Monday was the lowest score by any Razorback that day. Smith’s 70 was next.
Neo Berg and Willie Gordon tied for 15th at 8-over 224.
About the only thing the Hogs didn’t win was the individual title.
That went to UNC Greensboro’s BJ Boyce, who shot a 64 in the final round.
How the three rounds played out
Boyce didn’t make a bogey Monday. He went 8 under for the day and jumped seven spots to first.
His round came within a shot of the tournament and course record, which LSU’s Algot Kleen set in 2024.
His team had a good day too. UNC Greensboro shot 7-under 281, the best team score of the final round, and moved up one spot into second.
It didn’t dent the lead much, because Arkansas built most of it on the first day with a 273.
The second round was the hard one. No team broke 298, and that 298 belonged to the Razorbacks.
They closed with a 287 on a par-72 course that played 7,991 yards.
This is the fourth time the Hogs have won this tournament in its seven years. It’s also their second team title in three events this season, and they finished second in the other one.
Arkansas has one stop left this fall, the Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 17-19 in Saucier, Miss.
