TULSA, Okla. - They left Oklahoma, but it wasn't in a Pontiac. However, Southern Arkansas' final 2023 exit from the Sooner State carried a little extra weight. Literally. The Muleriders, inside the tournament field's top three entering Tuesday's final round of action at the third annual Tulsa Cup from the par-72 course of The Club at Indian Springs, were the lone squad of the 18-team field to shoot below par in the third round which shot Neriah Brown's Muleriders to the top of the leaderboard for the program's first win since March 2020 and the first of Brown's coaching career.
 
Senior Connor Harrington laid claim to all-tournament honors after placing in a tie for third following a 54-hole effort of 212 (74-69-69). The Magnolia native has been no stranger to nice results this fall as his second and third round scores give him five rounds of 69 and nine total rounds at par or better.
 
Harrington finished one par back of the tournament lead after notching 38 over 54 holes. He produced the lone eagle for the Muleriders which he delivered on the par-5, 539-yard No. 1 during his final round. Harrington recorded nine birdies for SAU en route to a career-best finish.
 
Aiding the Muleriders' efforts were a pair of top 15 finishes from juniors Logan McDonald (E) and Wil Griffin II (+2). McDonald placed tied for ninth after shooting 216 behind 72-73-71. Griffin earned a 15th place result following a 76-69-73.
 
McDonald led the Muleriders in par-5 scoring at -4 in addition to trailing Griffin's team-best par-4 effort of -1 by two strokes. McDonald totaled 34 pars and a team-leading 11 birdies. Griffin was one of seven players in the 90-golfer field to shoot -1 or better on par-4 holes. He generated the team's second-best par-3 scoring result at +2 behind Harrington's even effort on such holes. His 39 pars led the tournament field and he added seven birdies.
 
Senior Caleb Miller placed tied for 30th with a 222 (+6) after shooting 74-73-75. He matched Harrington in birdies with nine and in par-5 scoring at -2. He finished the tournament with 31 made pars.
 
Sophomore Will Blake shot 235 (+19), but bounced back heavily following an opening round 87 as he fired 75-73 in his final two rounds. He produced 32 pars and six birdies; four of which were cupped in his final round.
 
Having been in the mix for several tournament titles throughout the fall slate, the Muleriders entered its final action before the spring determined to "show 'em all this time." As a team, Southern Arkansas (866; +2) responded from an opening round 296 to shoot 284 in round two, before closing with a 286; five strokes better than the next best team performance on Tuesday and four strokes better overall than tournament host Rogers State (870; +6). SAU bested four Great American Conference foes in Northwestern Oklahoma, Southwestern Oklahoma, Arkansas Tech and Arkansas-Monticello.
 
SAU was the only team to finish inside the field's top four in par-3 (+12), par-4 (+16) and par-5 (-5) scoring. The Muleriders' 174 pars were two back of the tournament lead and the squad's 42 birdies were the fifth-most among the field.
 
The victory caps a highly successful fall semester for Brown's Muleriders who add Tuesday's tournament win to top five finishes at the 25th Annual NSU Golf Classic (3rd of 16), MSSU Fall Invitational (5th of 20) and Battle for the Belt (2nd of 10).
 
In ten of its fifteen rounds this fall, the Muleriders shot par or better to match the two-semester program record which was 10 over 26.0 rounds in 2018-19. SAU golfers made par a combined 812 times this fall. Additionally, Southern Arkansas broke the two-semester program record for eagles in a season with 15 in the first semester alone. The previous best was 13 in 2022-23. SAU's 232 birdies through 15.0 rounds are currently the seventh-most in a single season in program history.
 
The Muleriders turn to a well-deserved hiatus as action has concluded for the fall. Fans can visit www.MuleriderAthletics.com in the coming weeks for updates on the Muleriders' spring campaign which will include its annual Arkansas Collegiate at Mystic Creek Golf Club as well as a spring-opening trip to Humble, Texas for the Houston Classic on February 12 and 13.
 

?????? Tulsa Cup??Muleriders??

SAU is the lone squad to shoot under par on Tuesday and they finish +2 over 54 holes to claim the program's first win since March 2020????

Connor Harrington posted 74-69-69 (-4) to place T3rd with All-Tournament honors??#GoMuleriders #LetsRide pic.twitter.com/RFAw4RBFqP

— Mulerider Athletics (@MuleriderSports) October 24, 2023