March 09, 1999
Texas A&M senior Ryan Palmer fired a final round of three- under-par 69 on Tuesday but fell one stroke short of defending his individual title at the 14th Annual Louisiana Classics at Oakbourne Country Club.
Palmer, who won last year's tournament with a one-over-par total of 217, bettered that performance this year with rounds of 71-72-69=212, but finished third behind co- champions Rich Morris of Arkansas (71-69-71=211) and Martin Maritz of Tulsa (72-68- 71=211).
As a team, the Aggies finished in 10th place in the 15-team field with rounds of 294-301-301=896.
No. 11-ranked Florida beat No. 22-ranked Nebraska on the second hole of a sudden death playoff to capture the team title. The Gators and Cornhuskers were deadlocked after 54 holes with scores of 869. Florida's Steve Scott and Camilo Benedetti each birdied the second playoff hole after each team recorded four pars on the first playoff hole for the victory, Florida's third straight this spring.
Other A&M scores were senior Matt Welch tying for 34th at 77-72-77=226, sophomore Casey Cronin tying for 39th at 71-79-77=227, freshman Sean Gilliland tying for 54th at 75-78-78=231 and sophomore Ryan Tull finishing 81st at 86-79-85=250. Freshman Josh McCoy, competing as an individual, tied for 68th at 79-79-78=236.