Golf: Kelly Claims Individual Title At Miramont Invitational

BRYAN, Texas – Senior Louis Kelly backed up an opening round score of 69 (-3) with another 69 on Tuesday to claim the Miramont Invitational hosted at the par-72, 7,174-yard Miramont Country Club.
 
"Its quite fitting for Louis to pick up his first tournament win," head coach Theo Sliman said. "He had a good start to the season, but he struggled the last couple times out. Louis and I had a conversation a couple days ago about what we needed to see from him both from a leadership standpoint and with his play, and he responded in the best possible way. I am very proud of the way he competed and showed a lot of grit."
 
Kelly opened the day with six straight birdies and had eight in his first 12 holes to claim the wire-to-wire championship. The two rounds of 69 give Kelly four rounds in the 60s this season as he now has three top 10 finishes this fall. Kelly edged out Houston’s Roman Robledo by one stroke to win the title.
 
As a team, Louisiana moved up into a tie for fourth in the final round shooting a score of even par (288) to finish the 36-hole event at 12-over (588). Houston held on to win the team title with a two-round score of 11-under (565). UTSA (�5, 581), Columbia (�11, 587), Louisiana (�12, 588), Rice (�12, 588), Sam Houston State (�12, 588) and Texas State (�12, 588) round out the top 5 teams.
 
"I’m really proud of the guys to show their grit in the final round," Sliman added. "To move up the leaderboard in the final round is a very positive thing to take into match play next week. We still have a lot to work on as a team. I’m not seeing the back end of the lineup compete like they are capable of, but I am confident that’s something that we can fix."
 
Junior Haraldur Magnus also carded a 69 (-3) to climb up 15 spots in the final round to finish in a tie for 13th at even par (144). The Reykjavik, Iceland native has finished in the top 25 in three of the four events this fall.
 
"This is two very solid weeks that Haraldur has put together," Sliman said. "We are going to need him playing well if we want to be successful."
 
Fernando Cruz Valle ended the event in a tie for 57th at 9-over (153), while Paul San placed in a tie for 63rd at 11-over (155). Joseph Burgess closed out the scoring for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 70th at 13-over (157).
 
The Cajuns close out the fall season on Oct. 19 at the Moe O’Brien Match Play Championship held in Lake Charles, La.