Former HHS golf star takes tourney title

Mississippi Gulf Coast golf standout Colin Troxler finally has a medalist trophy to call his own.

After five second-place finishes in the career of the former Hahnville High School star, he carded another under-par round and held off the field to win the Carey Collegiate Classic.

Troxler fired a 1-under 71 to improve to 7-under for the event, which was played at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss., winning by one shot over Coastal Georgia’s Paxton Shuman. He helped lead his No. 4 Gulf Coast team to finish fourth in an 11-team field dominated by veteran, four-year schools.

“Everything clicked,” Troxler said. “My ball-striking. My putter worked yesterday. I didn’t make a lot of putts today, but everything clicked. I got up and down when I needed to. It all worked.”

Troxler maintained his one-shot advantage over Shuman from the first round despite leaving some scoring on the course.

“He shot 1-under but really didn’t make any putts,” Gulf Coast coach Tommy Snell said. “If he’d made those, he’d have been 5- or 6-under. He just played solid and didn’t let it rattle him. He just kept plugging.”

Coastal Georgia, an NAIA power, won the tournament at 11-under, seven better than the host William Carey squad. The Crusaders’ A-team included Gulf Coast alumni Danny De Los Santos and Conner Entriken, with Jesse Sunderman and Bryce Jackson competing on the B-team and as an individual, respectively.

The Bulldogs made up three shots on Spring Hill, but finished one back at 7-over. East Central, the only other MACJC team in the field, finished 10th and 50-over.

Troxler, a Luling native, is set to move on to play at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette next year after signing with the school last fall. The sophomore was named to the PING Golf All-Freshman team last season, making him one of the top five golfers in his class in the country last year. He also earned second-team NJCAA All-American honors. Troxler finished second in four events last year, including the Region 23 Championship. That performance helped Gulf Coast win its ninth straight region title.

The Bulldogs return to action March 27-28 in the GlenLakes Invitation in Foley, Ala.