Men's golf takes home C-USA championship

A new face leads the Knights every year, but one thing has remained consistent: The UCF men's golf team has the Conference USA title in its back pocket.

For the third consecutive year, the Knights brought home the C-USA Championship after posting an 862 at Texarkana (Ark.) Country Club on Tuesday.

With the win, the Knights receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Regionals.

Greg Eason, a freshman from Leicester City, England, braved the conditions and took second place overall with a 6-under performance. It's the second consecutive year a Knight has taken second place at the Championship, after sophomore Connor Arendell brought home the honors last year.

"Greg's had an sbolutely amazing yea," said head coach Bryce Wallor. "The first couple of weeks here he went through the process of getting accustomed to a new county, and since then he's been the low finisher in every event but two."

Eason's third round, a 3-under 69, included two birdies and an eagle, which helped him to his seventh top-10 finish of the year.

After the departure of former Knights star Blayne Barber to Auburn in 2009, UCF has struggled to find a true No. 1. Eason and Arendell have shared the role and will help the Knights remain strong alongside a core of Kyle Wilshire and Brad Schneider.

Said Wallor: "It's a great one-two punch."

Schneider also finished in the top 10 with a 7th-place, 1-under finish. Arendell shot 1-over for a 13th-place finish.

The Knights, ranked No. 33 in the Golfweek/Sagarin college rankings, will be randomly assigned to one of  the six NCAA Regional locations May 9. The Knights finished sixth at last year's Regional, just missing the bid to the NCAA Championship.

"Last year's team, with everyone getting used to a new coach and a new system, it took a while to get everyone on the same page," Wallor said. "This year it started off very quick. Runner up the first week and won the next week. Having established ourselves as a coaching staff, this year's team hit the ground running."