SMU men’s golf player Sides earned his third individual title of the season with a co-victory at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, according to an April 14 announcement. The SMU team finished in third place overall.
The event took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sides started the final day one shot behind Paul Chang of Virginia but quickly caught up with three consecutive birdies on holes four, five, and six. Both players continued to exchange birdies through the back nine and ended tied at 16-under par for a shared tournament lead. Sides recorded only one bogey across all 54 holes.
This victory marks Sides’ third win this season and fourth in his career, tying him with Kelly Kraft for second-most titles in Mustang history since 1985. Only Colt Knost has more wins with seven. Sides also matched records for lowest single-season scoring average by a Mustang (69.59) and tied the lowest 54-hole score by a Mustang at 13-under.
As a team, SMU was second after two rounds but finished third following a five-under performance on the final day. Their best round was a 13-under effort in round two, trailing only nationally ranked teams Virginia and Florida State.
Freshman Steinmann finished fourth individually after starting the final day tied with Sides and shooting two under par for his second top-five finish of the season. Other Mustangs placed T40 (+3), T40 (+3), T45 (+4), and T60 (+9 as an individual).
Looking ahead, SMU will compete next at the ACC Championship in Panama City, Florida from April 23-27.
