BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – Marcus Wochner secured a tie for second-place and Wichita State finished fourth out of eight teams at the American Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championship.
 
Up three shots heading into Sunday at Southern Hills Plantation Club, Wochner (66-70-72—208, -8) played a respectable final round at even-par, but one of his playing partner, USF's Albin Bergstrom, gradually made up the stagger and then some with a 6-under, 66 to win by three shots at 11-under.
 
The pair were dead even with five holes to play. Bergstrom bogeyed the 14^th – a 507-yard par-4 but emerged with a one-shot lead after Wochner carded a six on the same hole.
 
Wochner gave back another stroke on No. 17, and Bergstrom sank a long birdie putt on No. 18 for the final margin.
 
Needing par on the 18^th to hang onto tie for second-place, Wochner holed a long putt of his own to stay level with 11^th-ranked Noah Goodwin of SMU and Sam Jean of Cincinnati at 8-under.
 
Wochner's 17 birdies tied for the tournament lead. His 208 was a season-best and the lowest 54-hole total by a Shocker at a conference championship event since Connor McHenry won the 2008 MVC title (also 208).
 
A strong performance in a field that included four of the nation's top-100 golfers should boost Wochner's postseason stock. He'll be in the mix for one of a handful of individual at-large slots when the NCAA makes its regional selections (May 5).

In the team standings, 35^th-ranked USF bested No. 20 SMU for its fifth team title in seven tries at 17-under, while Cincinnati turned in the day's best scorecard (275) to take third-place at -8.
 
WSU fended off challengers Memphis, East Carolina and UCF at various times to hang onto fourth-place at +1. It was a vast improvement from 2018 and 2019 when Shocker teams twice finished at the bottom of the standings.
 
Frank Thomas (76-69-72—217, +1) played his final round at even-par to stake a tie for 15^th out of 40 golfers.
 
Zac Owens (76-71-71—218, +2) carded five birdies and finished under par for the second-straight day to finish in a tie for 17^th.
 
Brock Polhill (80-69-74—223, +7) and Dawson Lewis (79-73-74—226, +10) turned in twin 74's to take 31^st and 35^th respectively. 
 
"I'm pleased, especially after how we started on Friday. Saturday was one of the best rounds in Shocker history, and we battled again today," head coach Judd Easterling said. "Being in contention – especially for Marcus – was a great experience. We're getting better. Much better than last year. The guys are starting to realize that they can compete with these teams."
 

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AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Apr. 23-25, 2021 | Brooksville, Fla. | Southern Hills Plantation Club
Par 72 | 7,221 Yards | 8 Teams | 40 Individuals
Final Results
 
Individual Leaderboard:
1. #58 Albin Bergstrom (USF) – 68-71-66--205 (-11)
T2. Marcus Wochner (WSU) – 66-70-68 -- 208 (-8)
T2. #11 Noah Goodwin (SMU) – 70-70-68—208 (-8)
T2. Sam Jean (CIN) – 71-69-68—208 (-8)
T5. Clay Amlung (CIN) – 71-73-67 – 211 (-5)
T5. Clement Charmasson (UCF) – 68-73-70 – 211 (-5)
 
Shocker Entries:
T2. Wochner – 66-70-72 -- 208 (-8)
T15. Thomas – 76-69-72 -- 217 (+1)
T17. Owens – 76-71-71 -- 218 (+2)
T31. Polhill – 80-69-74 -- 223 (+7)
35. Lewis – 79-73-74 -- 226 (+10)
 
Team Standings:
1. #35 South Florida – 270-292-285--847 (-17)
2. #20 SMU – 287-286-279--852 (-12)
3. Cincinnati – 289-292-275 – 856 (-8)
4. Wichita State – 297-279-289—865 (+1)
T5. East Carolina – 287-290-292 – 869 (+5)
T5. Memphis – 285-292-292—869 (+5)
T5. UCF – 288-293-288—869 (+5)
8. Temple – 296-302-303 – 901 (+37)