This Week In Rattlers Golf
GolfWeek Fripp Island to Bermuda Invite • Fripp Island, S.C.
Oct. 20-21 • Fripp Island Resort
•   The St. Mary's Men's Golf team is competing in the GolfWeek Fripp Island to Bermuda Invite at the Fripp Island Resort on Monday and Tuesday. The individual medalist will receive an at-large berth into the PGA Tour's Butterfield Bermuda Championship which takes place Nov. 13-16.
•   The Rattlers are coming off their first win of the season at the Skip Wagnon Invitational, where the team finished 34-under-par (269-264-273=806). Senior Kongpop Kaikaew won the tournament with a 13-under-par 197 (68-63-66), while sophomore Guillaume Paquette was second with a 199 (67-63-69).
•   The 264 shot by the Rattlers in the second round breaks the school single-round record by four strokes, while the 806 shatters the 54-hole tournament record of 833 from the 2004 team at the St. Edward's Invitational. Kongpop Kaikaew's 197 also establishes a new 54-hole individual record, bettering his own record of 198 from last year at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational.
•   Kongpop Kaikaew was named the Lone Star Conference Golfer of the Week after his win at the Skip Wagnon Invitational. It is the fourth time in two seasons he's earned the award. Guillaume Paquette earned the second Golfer of the Week award of his career after he led the team at the Travis Roy Memorial with a 145 (+1).
•   The lineup for the Fripp Island Invite will be 1) Kongpop Kaikaew, 2) Baptiste Touchard, 3) Guillaume Paquette, 4) Philip Hallstrom and 5) Elijah Galvan.Â
•   St. Mary's led the Travis Roy Memorial with five eagles, one more than team champion Colorado Mesa, which had four. Guillaume Paquette collected two during the 36 holes, while Elijah Galvan, Kongpop Kaikaew and Baptiste Touchard each had one.
•   The weather forecast for Fripp Island calls for sunny skies with temperatures in the low 70s. Winds on Monday will be out of the Northeast from 10-15 mph and will shift to the Southwest for Tuesday's round. Humidity will rise throughout the two days, starting around 50% and hitting 84% by Tuesday evening.
•   The field for the tournament will consist of teams from Barry, Catawba, Columbus State, Florida Southern, Georgia Southwestern, Lee, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lincoln Memorial, North Georgia, Nova Southeastern, Rollins, USC Beaufort, Valdosta State, West Florida.
•   St. Mary's is ranked No. 13 in the GCAA Bushnell/GolfWeek Poll from Oct. 10, bouncing back up the four spots they lost in the first poll. The Rattlers have been ranked in the top 25 in seven straight polls, the second-longest streak in school history behind the 20 straight from 2018-2020.
•   The Rattlers finished seventh at the 2025 NCAA National Championship, advancing to medal-match play, where they lost in the quarterfinals. All five golfers who competed at the NCAA Championship return to the roster for 2025-26.
•   Senior Baptiste Touchard (Third-Team) and Guillaume Paquette (Honorable Mention) were both honored on the GCAA PING All-American team at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season.
