ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. — On Tuesday afternoon, the Milligan men's golf program returned to the Barnsley Resort for the final round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament, which served as the direct qualifier for the NAIA Championships. The Buffaloes entered the day nine strokes back of the lead, trailing No. 2 Reinhardt on the team leaderboard. Individually, Francisco de Bethencourt's stellar play over the opening two rounds placed him at the top of the leaderboard entering the final day. De Bethencourt maintained his lead with consistent play throughout the afternoon; despite a late struggle on the final two holes, he earned a spot in the NAIA Championships by claiming medalist and co-champion honors. As a team, Milligan battled to catch Reinhardt in the final round, but the Eagles pulled away to secure the team qualification, fueled by placing three golfers in the top five and four in the top ten. Ultimately, the Buffs finished in second place, 34 strokes behind the Eagles.

De Bethencourt entered the final round with a one-stroke lead following a strong performance in the opening two rounds. He extended that cushion with mistake-free golf early in the day; after a par, birdie, and bogey through his first three holes, he carded six consecutive pars to make the turn at even-par 36. On a front nine that averaged 3.94 strokes over par across the field, his steady play allowed him to pull further away from the pack. His momentum carried into the back nine, where he widened the gap with three birdies and four pars, building a comfortable four-shot lead with only two holes remaining. However, the finish proved difficult as he faced the course's two highest handicapped holes in the par-3 17th and the par-4 18th. A bogey on the 17th and a triple-bogey on the 18th erased his lead, as two contenders finished with pars and a third surged into a tie for the lead by making up five shots down the stretch. Despite the late shift on the leaderboard, de Bethencourt's performance earned him medalist and co-champion honors, along with an automatic qualification for the NAIA Championships.

Manuel Gutierrez also positioned himself near the top of the individual leaderboard, entering the final round in a tie for fifth. Through the front nine, he maintained his standing by posting a one-over-par 37 with a steady performance that included six pars, a birdie, and two bogeys. His consistency continued early on the back nine, after an opening bogey, he rallied with five consecutive pars to keep himself in contention. However, the momentum shifted after a bogey on the 16th hole. The struggle was compounded by back-to-back triple bogeys on the challenging 17th and 18th holes. Those late difficulties resulted in an eight-over-par 44 on the back nine and a nine-over-par 81 for the day, moving Gutierrez into a tie for 13th on the final leaderboard.

Aidan Sinclair returned to the course with significant momentum after firing the field's low score in round two, a two-under-par 70, to climb into the top 20. His final round was comprised of up and down scoring, as he carded five birdies to match his five pars on the day. Ultimately, the volatility of the round proved difficult to overcome. Despite the frequent birdies, five bogeys, two double bogeys, and a triple bogey made his push toward the top of the leaderboard challenging, and he finished the day with a six-over-par 78, concluding the tournament in a tie for 18^th place.

Evan Caldwell rounded out the scoring for Milligan with a 10-over-par 82. His round started strong, sitting at one-under through the first five holes, but consecutive double bogeys on the sixth and seventh pushed his front-nine total to a 39 (+3). The struggles continued after the turn with a bogey and a triple bogey to start the back nine, while back-to-back double bogeys on the 14th and 15th did further damage to his scorecard. Caldwell finished on a high note with a birdie on the 16^th, and he concluded the third round in a tie for 28th place with on overall score of (+10) in round three.

Hjalmar Liljenberg (54th, 83) gained valuable experience by playing the tournament as individual, as he rounded out the list of golfers for Milligan.

With the runner-up finish, Milligan's team season comes to a close. De Bethencourt will move on to represent the Buffaloes at the NAIA Men's Golf National Championship, held at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, from May 12-15.
 
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