Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Following his performance at the Maridoe Intercollegiate, Louisiana Tech’s Niilo Maki-Petaja was named Conference USA Men’s Golfer of the Week in an announcement made by the league office on Wednesday.
Playing at the challenging Maridoe Golf Club in windy conditions against some of the top golfers in the country, Maki-Petaja shot 73-69-77=219 (+3) to tie for eighth at the event which marked his third top-10 finish of the season.
Maki-Petaja and freshman Morton Bailey anchored the Bulldogs during the event, which Tech finished 11th for the tournament after shooting 313-294-307=914 (+50). Bailey climbed 22 spots to finish tied for 22nd at eight over (80-72-72=224). It was Bailey’s second-best finish of the season.
Seventh-ranked Oklahoma took home the team title, winning by 16 strokes.
The highlight of the tournament for Maki-Petaja was the second round when he shot three under, tying for the third best round of the Maridoe Intercollegiate. That round included his first ever hole in one which came on the Par 3 No. 8.
In a stacked field that included four teams ranked in the top 15 in the country, Maki-Petaja’s 8th-place finish ended up besting eight golfers ranked in the top 100 in the nation.
This marks the first CUSA Golfer of the Week honor this season for the Helsinki, Finland native and the fourth of his Bulldog career.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a trip to College Station, Texas for the last regular season event at the Aggie Invitational. Maki-Petaja claimed his first collegiate win at this event last season.
