Houston Cougars sweep Border Olympics titles

2/15/2022 | by Kent Paisley of AmateurGolf.com

Senior Alexander Frances defeats teammate Andrew Gibson in a playoff for his first career collegiate title

The Houston Cougars swept the Border Olympics team and individual titles on Tuesday, winning the team competition by 15 strokes over Louisiana Tech while senior Alexander Frances claimed the individual title in a two-hole playoff over fellow Cougar graduate student Andrew Gibson after both golfers finished regulation at 7-under par.

Both Frances and Gibson trailed Lamar's Hugo Hellman by a stroke heading into the final round, only to see the Cougar duo match cards with rounds of 70 while the Swede fell out of contention with a closing 74.

Gibson caught the Dane on the back nine Tuesday, going two-under on the final side to force a playoff, with Frances carding even on the back nine for his two under 70. Gibson played the back nine bogey-free through regulation all week. Frances matched the Scotsman on the 16th hole with the final birdie between the two of the day.

CONGRATS to Alexander Frances, your 2022 Border Olympics individual champion

Defeats teammate @andyg_gibson on second hole of playoff

Great work by both Cougars!#GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/mDodqowYBK
— Houston Men's Golf ⛳ 🐾 (@UHCougarMGolf) February 15, 2022

The European duo squared off in a playoff to determine who would win the first individual title of their collegiate careers. Starting on Laredo (Texas) Country Club's par-4 18th, the teammates traded pars before Frances sank a par putt on the 408-yard, par-4 10th hole to claim medalist honors. It marked his first amateur victory since the 2018 Danish National Stroke Play Championship.

Houston senior Braxton Watkins joined Gibson and Frances among the top-10 leaders, tying for sixth at 216.

Houston's team victory didn't have nearly any of the drama of the race for the individual title, as the Cougars took a seven-stroke lead over Baylor and Sam Houston State into the final round. Neither team could cut into the Cougars lead and were passed by Louisiana Tech, which finished second at 3-over 867.

It marked Houston's first victory since November 2019 at the White Sand Invitational.

Results: Border Olympics

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Alexander Frances	, Denmark	400	69-70-70=209
2	Andrew Gibson	, Scotland	300	70-69-70=209
3	Hugo Hellman	, Sweden	200	68-70-74=212
4	Sam Murphy	Decatur, AL	200	71-69-74=214
5	Luke Morgan	Guthrie, OK	200	71-72-72=215

View full results for Border Olympics

About the Border Olympics

54-hole men's college tournament hosted by the University of Houston. Team (best four scores out of five players each round) and individual competitions.

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