University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Tuesday, September 15
Destin, Fla.
9:00 a.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
Sandestin Collegiate Classic
Cajuns In Second Place After 36 Holes at Sandestin
9/15/2026 3:56:00 PM | Golf
Bright, Holtsclaw in top-20 heading into final round
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. - UL's golf team had another slow start here Tuesday, but battled back late for the second day in a row and stands tied for second after two rounds of the Sandestin Collegiate Classic.
The Ragin' Cajuns, who held the team lead after Monday's first round thanks to a red-hot finish, posted a three-over 283 score over the difficult 7,000-yard par-70 Raven layout. Their two-day, 6-under-par 554 score is tied with Central Arkansas for the runner-up spot behind Mercer's Bears, who had their second straight sub-par round and have a five-stroke lead at 11-under 549.
"When you have a poor day and you still shoot three-over as a team, that shows what kind of fighters these guys are and that there's no quit in them," said Cajun coach Theo Sliman. "They were in a tough position right out the gates and they had a bunch of different emotions going into today's round, so all we need to do is learn and apply."
UL was as low as a tie for 13th in the 14-team field early in Monday's opening round of the three-day event. On Tuesday, the Cajuns never fell out of the top three despite a slow start that included no birdies, six bogeys and a double-bogey in the first four holes. After that, UL had 12 team birdies against nine over-par holes, after recording 22 birdies and only six bogeys in Monday's final 14 holes.
"We need to figure out how to be a little more comfortable at the beginning of our rounds," Sliman said of his squad that has two freshmen and two sophomores among the sixsome competing in the season opener. "It's the competitive nature of the guys wanting to do a lot really quick, instead of understanding it's a marathon and not a sprint. The good news is we had a really poor day as a collective group and we're still in it."
Fourth-year senior Ellis Bright had a second straight strong performance after missing almost all of last season with an injury. The Bath, England, product shot three-under over the final 16 holes after a bogey at the par-four second hole Tuesday, and finished with seven straight pars for a two-under 68. Bright opened with a four-under 66 Monday, and his two-day 134 total has him tied for fourth in the individual chase, three shots behind leader Jen chie Huang of Texas-Arlington (64-67—131).
"Ellis played with some intensity today," Sliman said. "I saw a lot of fist pumps for five- and six-foot par putts out of him; that shows his gut and his mind are in a good spot. I'm really excited to see him kind of lead us here this week."
"Today was a little different than yesterday, but it was a really good result," said Bright, who only played five competitive rounds last season and saw no action in the spring. "I stuck in there all day, was patient, grinded, had a few more par putts today rather than birdie putts, but overall happy and moving in the right direction."
Fourth-year senior Carter Schmitt of Baton Rouge and sophomore James Holtsclaw of Shreveport both carded one-over 71 on Tuesday, and like Bright both finished on par streaks. Schmitt (71-71—142) finished his round with 10 straight pars and Holtsclaw (68-71—139) fought back after two early bogeys to shoot one-under over the final 14 holes including birdies on the final two par-fives.
Freshmen Kye Hanks of Lake Charles and Jack Carter of Shreveport both also rallied after slow starts. Carter (68-73—141) was three-over after three holes but shot even-par with two back-side birdies, while Hanks (69-73—142) bogeyed three of his first seven holes but rolled in four birdies on the back nine. Sophomore Drew Sliman of Lafayette had three birdies in his final nine holes and shot two-over 72 for the second straight day playing as an individual.
Central Arkansas had the day's low round with a nine-under 271 to tie with the Cajuns for second behind Mercer, which stretched its lead with 11 back-nine birdies. West Florida is one shot back in fourth place at five-under 555, with those four teams matched up for Wednesday's final 9 a.m. shotgun start. ULM is four more strokes back at 559 and tournament host Texas State is sixth at one-over 561.
Pairings and live scoring are available at Scoreboard.clippd.com.
Sandestin Collegiate Classic – Second-round results
Sept. 15, 2026
The Raven (7,000 yards, par 70) at Sandestin, Miramar Beach, Fla.
Team Standings: 1. Mercer 273-276—549 (-11); T2. Louisiana 271-283—554 (-6); T2. Central Arkansas 283-271—554 (-6); 4. West Florida 276-279—555 (-5); 5. ULM 278-281—559 (-1); 6. Texas State 278-283—561 (+1); 7. Houston Christian 280-283—563 (+3); 8. High Point 281-283—564 (+4); 9. UT Arlington 280-286—566 (+6); 10. Lamar 279-288—567 (+7); 11. Nicholls 279-291—570 (+10); 12. South Alabama 289-282—571 (+11); 13. East Texas A&M 281-293—574 (+14); 14. LSU New Orleans 295-306—601 (+41).
Individual Leaders: 1. Jen chie Huang, UT-Arlington 64-67—131 (-9); T2. Ethan Weinberg, West Florida, 66-66—132 (-8); T2. Hector Arriaga, West Florida (individual), 69-63—132 (-8); T4. Ellis Bright, Louisiana, 66-68—134 (-6); T4. Preston Severs, West Florida, 69-65—134 (-6).
UL Scores: T4. Ellis Bright 66-68—134 (-6); T18. James Holtsclaw 68-71—139 (-1); T26. Jack Carter 68-73—141 (+1); T33. Carter Schmitt 71-71—142 (+2); T33. Kye Hanks 69-72—142 (+2); T42. Drew Sliman 72-72—144 (+4) (individual).
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The Ragin' Cajuns, who held the team lead after Monday's first round thanks to a red-hot finish, posted a three-over 283 score over the difficult 7,000-yard par-70 Raven layout. Their two-day, 6-under-par 554 score is tied with Central Arkansas for the runner-up spot behind Mercer's Bears, who had their second straight sub-par round and have a five-stroke lead at 11-under 549.
"When you have a poor day and you still shoot three-over as a team, that shows what kind of fighters these guys are and that there's no quit in them," said Cajun coach Theo Sliman. "They were in a tough position right out the gates and they had a bunch of different emotions going into today's round, so all we need to do is learn and apply."
UL was as low as a tie for 13th in the 14-team field early in Monday's opening round of the three-day event. On Tuesday, the Cajuns never fell out of the top three despite a slow start that included no birdies, six bogeys and a double-bogey in the first four holes. After that, UL had 12 team birdies against nine over-par holes, after recording 22 birdies and only six bogeys in Monday's final 14 holes.
"We need to figure out how to be a little more comfortable at the beginning of our rounds," Sliman said of his squad that has two freshmen and two sophomores among the sixsome competing in the season opener. "It's the competitive nature of the guys wanting to do a lot really quick, instead of understanding it's a marathon and not a sprint. The good news is we had a really poor day as a collective group and we're still in it."
Fourth-year senior Ellis Bright had a second straight strong performance after missing almost all of last season with an injury. The Bath, England, product shot three-under over the final 16 holes after a bogey at the par-four second hole Tuesday, and finished with seven straight pars for a two-under 68. Bright opened with a four-under 66 Monday, and his two-day 134 total has him tied for fourth in the individual chase, three shots behind leader Jen chie Huang of Texas-Arlington (64-67—131).
"Ellis played with some intensity today," Sliman said. "I saw a lot of fist pumps for five- and six-foot par putts out of him; that shows his gut and his mind are in a good spot. I'm really excited to see him kind of lead us here this week."
"Today was a little different than yesterday, but it was a really good result," said Bright, who only played five competitive rounds last season and saw no action in the spring. "I stuck in there all day, was patient, grinded, had a few more par putts today rather than birdie putts, but overall happy and moving in the right direction."
Fourth-year senior Carter Schmitt of Baton Rouge and sophomore James Holtsclaw of Shreveport both carded one-over 71 on Tuesday, and like Bright both finished on par streaks. Schmitt (71-71—142) finished his round with 10 straight pars and Holtsclaw (68-71—139) fought back after two early bogeys to shoot one-under over the final 14 holes including birdies on the final two par-fives.
Freshmen Kye Hanks of Lake Charles and Jack Carter of Shreveport both also rallied after slow starts. Carter (68-73—141) was three-over after three holes but shot even-par with two back-side birdies, while Hanks (69-73—142) bogeyed three of his first seven holes but rolled in four birdies on the back nine. Sophomore Drew Sliman of Lafayette had three birdies in his final nine holes and shot two-over 72 for the second straight day playing as an individual.
Central Arkansas had the day's low round with a nine-under 271 to tie with the Cajuns for second behind Mercer, which stretched its lead with 11 back-nine birdies. West Florida is one shot back in fourth place at five-under 555, with those four teams matched up for Wednesday's final 9 a.m. shotgun start. ULM is four more strokes back at 559 and tournament host Texas State is sixth at one-over 561.
Pairings and live scoring are available at Scoreboard.clippd.com.
Sandestin Collegiate Classic – Second-round results
Sept. 15, 2026
The Raven (7,000 yards, par 70) at Sandestin, Miramar Beach, Fla.
Team Standings: 1. Mercer 273-276—549 (-11); T2. Louisiana 271-283—554 (-6); T2. Central Arkansas 283-271—554 (-6); 4. West Florida 276-279—555 (-5); 5. ULM 278-281—559 (-1); 6. Texas State 278-283—561 (+1); 7. Houston Christian 280-283—563 (+3); 8. High Point 281-283—564 (+4); 9. UT Arlington 280-286—566 (+6); 10. Lamar 279-288—567 (+7); 11. Nicholls 279-291—570 (+10); 12. South Alabama 289-282—571 (+11); 13. East Texas A&M 281-293—574 (+14); 14. LSU New Orleans 295-306—601 (+41).
Individual Leaders: 1. Jen chie Huang, UT-Arlington 64-67—131 (-9); T2. Ethan Weinberg, West Florida, 66-66—132 (-8); T2. Hector Arriaga, West Florida (individual), 69-63—132 (-8); T4. Ellis Bright, Louisiana, 66-68—134 (-6); T4. Preston Severs, West Florida, 69-65—134 (-6).
UL Scores: T4. Ellis Bright 66-68—134 (-6); T18. James Holtsclaw 68-71—139 (-1); T26. Jack Carter 68-73—141 (+1); T33. Carter Schmitt 71-71—142 (+2); T33. Kye Hanks 69-72—142 (+2); T42. Drew Sliman 72-72—144 (+4) (individual).
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