SORRENTO, Fla. ? Marc-Etienne Bussieres recorded his third straight score of par or better Saturday in the final round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Southeast Regional, posting the best postseason result by a University of South Alabama individual since the 2003 campaign in the process.

Bussieres finished with an even-par 71 over the final 18 holes at the par-71, 7,152-yard Red Tail Golf Club, giving him a 1-under-par 212 total for the three-day tournament as he ended up in a tie for 33rd place in the 75-player field.

It was the lowest 54-hole total by a Jaguar since Ryan Gildersleeve and Gareth Maybin collected scores of 209 and 211, respectively, at the 2003 NCAA East Regional, while it was the highest individual finish for a Jag since Maybin tied for 17th place at the NCAA East Regional the following spring.

“I’m pretty happy with how I played,” Bussieres stated.  “It was a good week in the sense that I hit a lot of good shots, but it wasn’t a great week because I wasn’t able to make putts and take advantage of my chances on the green.”

“Marc played very well tee to green this weekend, he hit a lot of quality golf shots,” Jaguar head coach Ben Hannan commented.  “He had a lot of opportunities, but didn’t make enough putts to make it a great weekend.”

For the second straight day, Bussieres began the round on the back side of the course and proceeded to answer a bogey on No. 13 with three birdies in a row ? he sandwiched a pair of threes around a two on the par-three 15th.  He would then reel off eight straight pars before posting bogeys on two of his final three holes of the event.

Bussieres recorded nine of his 10 birdies on the weekend on the 10th-18th holes.

It was the second straight tournament that the junior from Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, has finished below par, and the third occasion this season that he has accomplished the feat.

No. 17 Central Florida, which hosted the event with the Central Florida Sports Commission, won the regional with a 34-under-par 818 team score after shooting a 273 over the final 18 holes.  Top-ranked Georgia, No. 10 South Carolina and 36th-ranked Arizona tied for second with a total of 829, with No. 59 Iowa claiming the final spot in the NCAA Championships field with an 837 score.

Tarquin MacManus of Arizona earned medalist honors with a three-round score of 15-under-par 198 after shooting his third straight sub-70 total on the last day.  Charlotte’s Corey Nagy picked up an individual slot at the NCAA Championships after a 69 over the final 18 holes left him with a 9-under-par 204 total.

Thirty-seven individuals finished below par for the tournament.

Bussieres will be one of two seniors on USA’s 2009-10 roster in the fall.

“We saw some pretty good teams and what they are capable of this weekend.  We saw the score that won the regional,” he said.  “Next year it would be nice to make the regional as a team, but if we want to compete with these schools we need to work together to get better as a group and lower our scores.

“I know that I need to work on my short game over the summer to help improve my scoring.”

“I think this weekend did a lot for Marc personally to measure himself against some of the better teams and individuals in the country.  This was a good regional we went to,” added Hannan.  “I’m hoping he can pass along to the rest of the team what we need to do to get to this level, which is where we want to be.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

?USA?

NCAA Southeast Regional
Red Tail Golf Club, Sorrento, Fla.
Par 71, 7,152 yards
Team Scores: 1) Central Florida 268-277-273?818 (-34); T2) Arizona 270-277-282?829; T2) Georgia 282-275-272?829; T2) South Carolina 273-287-269?829; 5) Iowa 283-278-276?827; 6) Georgia State 282-280-281?843; T7) Florida State 277-286-281?844; T7) Charlotte 273-285-286?844; 9) Kentucky 281-279-285?845; 10) Georgia Southern 291-281-275?847; 11) Augusta State 282-293-279?854; 12) Indiana 294-284-277?855; 13) Campbell 293-281-288?862; 14) Loyola (Md.) 284-302-302?888.

Individual Leaders: 1) Tarquin MacManus, UA 63-66-69?198 (-15) ; 2) Brad Schneider, UCF 66-71-63?200; 3) Blayne Barner, UCF 69-71-62?202; 4) Corey Nagy, Charlotte 65-70-69?204; 5) Spencer Fulford, GSU 70-69-66?205; T7) Stefan Wiedergruen, Charlotte 66-69-71?206; T6) Tyler Neal, UA 69-67-70?206; T6) Hudson Swafford, UGa 71-67-68?206; T6) Brooks Koepka, FSU 69-69-68?206; T10) four players with 207.

South Alabama Scores: T33) Marc-Etienne Bussieres 71-70-71?212 (-1).