ROCKWALL, Texas – St. Mary's University senior
Kongpop Kaikaew was named the Lone Star Conference Men's Golfer of the Year in a vote by the league's head coaches.
Kaikaew, who hails from Rayong, Thailand, becomes the second Rattler to earn Golfer of the Year honors in the Lone Star Conference, and it is the seventh time a Rattler has been named a league player of the year.
Senior
Baptiste Touchard (Saint-Agathon, France) joined Kaikaew on the first team, while sophomore
Guillaume Paquette (La Minerve, Quebec) was voted to the second team. Kaikaew and Touchard were also named to the Lone Star All-Academic teams. This is the second-straight year Touchard has been awarded on the team.
Head Coach
Connor McCarthy was also voted as the league's Co-Head Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Axel Ochoa from West Texas A&M. This is the second straight year that McCarthy has been honored by his fellow head coaches.
Kaikaew joins Emilio Gonzalez (2018 HC, 2019 HC, 2020 LSC), Matt Vela (2008 HC, 2011 HC) and Jamie Amoretti (2006 HC) on a prestigious list of Rattlers who have earned Golfer of the year honors.
Kaikaew has a 70.87 stroke average this season and is ranked No. 7 nationally, and it is the second straight year he's been voted to the first team. He has finished in the top 10 in six of the eight tournaments he's competed in, and he won individual medalist honors at both the Skip Wagnon Invitational and DBU Invitational during the fall. Kaikaew leads the team with nine rounds in the 60s and 18 rounds of par or better, and he's collected seven eagles.
Touchard, also a two-time First-Team All-Conference selection, has three top-10 finishes this season with a stroke average of 72.54. He is currently ranked 79th in the nation and leads the team with 296 pars on the year. The senior earned Lone Star Golfer of the Week honors on Feb. 12 after winning the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate in St. Augustine, Fla.
Paquette was an honorable mention selection a season ago, and was tabbed to the Second Team this year after being named the LSC Golfer of the Week twice. He is ranked 49th in the nation and eighth in the region. Paquette has three top-10 finishes and is tied for second with Touchard for most rounds in the 60s with five. Paquette also leads the team with 96 birdies, and has a 72.23 stroke average.
The Rattlers begin their hunt for the Lone Star Conference championship title on Monday.
