Notre Dame golf team claims SEMO Conference crown

Golf played out its laid-back rendition of a basketball buzzer-beater Tuesday at Dalhousie Golf Club.

There was no frenzied crowd storming the court. Instead, Notre Dame junior Jake Seabaugh finished his round on the second hole with a bogey amid birds chirping and a few onlookers moving about.

While the moment may have lacked drama, it was a game changer and a mood changer at the SEMO Conference tournament.

Seabaugh, the final Notre Dame golfer on the course, had just concluded a 6-over-par 78, his best competitive round at Dalhousie. It also lifted Notre Dame to its first conference title as the Bulldogs ended Poplar Bluff's lengthy reign by a single stroke.

"That's exactly what we needed," an elated Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim said about Seabaugh's first competitive round below 80 on the challenging Dalhousie layout. "That's nice out here. I'm happy for him. He's a good kid and he works hard. I'm so happy for him."

Jackson's Connor Thrower hits off the 10th tee box during the SEMO Conference tournament Tuesday.

The news of Seabaugh's 78 and the resulting victory took a while to reach Notre Dame players, who appeared resigned to a third finish behind the Mules this season.

Notre Dame junior Gunnar Knudtson, who was under the impression his team had fallen short, excitedly high-fived Seabaugh upon hearing the final team scores under the pavilion where the players signed their scorecards after finishing.

"It's awesome," Knudtson said. "I feel bad. I didn't mean to give up on my team. I knew we were there. That's what this golf team is all about, getting some decent averages in there."

Notre Dame sophomore Cody Cox, who also had assumed defeat, was the last to be informed.

"I didn't think we were anywhere close to being up there," Cox said. "We've been close when we played them, but gosh, I had no idea we were that close to them. This is a big confidence booster now that we won this."

Notre Dame's Brady Dixon hits out of the rough to the ninth green during the SEMO Conference tournament Tuesday at Dalhousie Golf Club. (Fred Lynch)

Poplar Bluff had won all seven conference tournaments since the event was moved to Dalhousie in 2004, and the Mules had clipped the Bulldogs in their two previous meetings this season. The Mules posted a two-stroke victory over the Bulldogs in the Notre Dame Invitational and finished one shot ahead of the Bulldogs in a tournament in Poplar Bluff.

"Bluff beat us every time except for now," Seabaugh said. "This is a great confidence boost going into state. It's exactly what we were looking for. All we wanted was a good confidence boost and everybody playing good before state, and that's what we got."

Notre Dame has been on a late-season roll, posting district and sectional victories to qualify as a team for the Class 3 state tournament next week at Silo Ridge Golf Course in Bolivar, Mo.

"That's going to be big for us," Notre Dame freshman Brady Dixon said about Tuesday's win. "That gives us the confidence we need. It gets our spirits up a little bit."

The Bulldogs used the same pack approach they used in last week's sectional victory, which also came at Dalhousie. All five Notre Dame players earned all-conference honors by finishing among the top 14 players in the 45-man field.

Jackson's Brett Leimbach lines up his putt on the ninth green during the SEMO Conference tournament Tuesday at Dalhousie Golf Club. (Fred Lynch)

Poplar Bluff junior Carr Vernon claimed the medalist honor with a 1-over-par 73, but Notre Dame countered that score with a straight of sorts -- Seabaugh at 78, Dixon at 79, Knudtson at 80, Cox at 81 and junior Tyler Arpin at 82.

"If one doesn't step up and do it, another one does," Grim said. "And they all stayed pretty consistent around each other. It's a typical Notre Dame day."

The Bulldogs didn't even use the score posted by Arpin, who finished ahead of three Poplar Bluff golfers.

"It's a big deal whenever we beat Bluff," Arpin said. "They've been on our tails the whole year, and we've been behind them. Every year they're our rival, basically."

Knudtson played in Vernon's foursome and had a front-row seat for a winning round that started with a double-bogey. With Kentucky golf coach Brian Craig watching his every shot, Carr rebounded to shoot 1-under over the next 17 holes.

"He's watched me three times now," Vernon said about Craig. "I think I'm used to having him watch. He's a pretty easygoing guy."

Carr only enhanced his college stock, consistently hitting fairways off the tees and showing an efficient short game. He finished four shots ahead of runner-up Connor Thrower of Jackson.

"I feel pretty confident," Vernon said. "I played pretty well. I didn't make any dumb mistakes."

Junior Collin Davis added a 79 to Poplar Bluff's team score, but the remainder of the Mules shot between 83 and 87.

"Today, in these conditions, I thought he had a great round," Poplar Bluff coach Billy Pyland said of Vernon. "I'm proud of him. It's an awful hard sport and you win some and you lose some. But it's hard to lose them, but you always have to congratulate the team that won.

"My guys, they'll rebound. The ultimate goal after this is state."

Notre Dame's consistency proved the difference, led by Seabaugh's round -- 41 on the front and 37 on the back. The highlight of his round was a birdie on No. 16, where his drive found a fairway bunker but his lengthy sand shot ended about three feet from the pin.

"That was a good birdie," Seabaugh said. "It really got me going."

And the 78 provided the anchor to Notre Dame's victory.

"That helped us out against Carr's really, really low ball," Knudtson said. "We had to make up those five strokes up somewhere, and it looks like we did. I'm very proud and ecstatic for our team."

SEMO Conference tournament

Team -- Notre Dame 318, Poplar Bluff 319, Jackson 336, Kennett 341, Central 346, Sikeston 351, Dexter 356, Doniphan 432, New Madrid 446

Individual

(All-conference -- top 14)

Carr Vernon, Poplar Bluff 73

Connor Thrower, Jackson 77

Jake Seabaugh, Notre Dame 78

Brady Dixon, Notre Dame 79

Collin Davis, Poplar Bluff 79

Ryan Richardson, Kennett 80

Gunnar Knudtson, Notre Dame 80

Cody Cox, Notre Dame 81

Travis Simmons, Central 82

Tyler Arpin, Notre Dame 82

Corey Connell, Central 83

John Gilmore, Poplar Bluff 83

Hayden Combs, Kennett 83

Taylor Smith, Doniphan 83

Jackson -- Connor Thrower 77, Brett Leimbach 84, Tanner Werner 85, Braxton McDowell 90

Central -- Travis Simmons 82, Corey Connell 83, David Watts 90, William Anderson 91

Notre Dame -- Jake Seabaugh 78, Brady Dixon 79, Gunnar Knudtson 80, Cody Cox 81