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APSU Golf signs international prospect

Austin Peay State University Governors SportsClarksville, TN – Coming off the best season in school history, Austin Peay State University men’s golf team has added a top international prospect for the 2013-14 season.

Erik Hedberg Bertrand, a Barcelona, Spain native who had 15 local championships in addition to Top 10 finishes in a pair of prestigious international events over the last two-plus seasons, has signed a national letter of intent to play golf with the Governors.

Betrand is the No. 1 ranked under-21 player in Catelonia, which comprises four provinces, including Barcelona. The incoming freshman also is the No. 7 ranked under-18 player in Spain.

In 2011, he averaged 74.78 strokes per round, playing mostly in local/area events, capturing 13 titles and three runner-up finishes. In playing a more competitive 2012 schedule, he won two more events while seeing his stroke average drop to 74.64.

Last December, he finished sixth at the prestigious 2012 Doral Ryder Publix Junior tournament, which featured a strong international field in Miami, FL. Then in March, he took fourth at the Spanish National Under 18 Championships, shooting 70-70-71-77 in the four-round event.

The Governors are coming off an Ohio Valley Conference championship season that saw them capture six tourney titles, gain a program-best seventh-place finish in the NCAA Regional at Tempe, AZ, and ended the year ranked a program-best 66th by Golfstat.com.

The Govs lose senior Dustin Korte, who competed in the NCAA Championships last week in Alpharetta, GA, but return rising seniors Anthony Bradley and Marco Iten among others for 2013-14. Despite joining a veteran team, Bertrand is expected to challenge for a lineup position in his first season.

“We are looking forward to Erik joining us in the fall,” APSU coach Kirk Kayden said. “He has a lot of national and international exposure.

“I look for him to make an immediate impact on our program. In order for us to remain a Top 100 team I believe we need to continue to seek players with this type of talent and experience.”

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