UCR’s men’s golf team finished second out of eight teams, including three Big West members, at the OGIO Santa Barbara Intercollegiate, on April 13th to 14th. It was their second-best performance of the season since the squad won the Mission Cup in January.
The schools in the field included UCSB, CSU Northridge, Long Beach State, Boise State, Bakersfield, Northern Colorado and Utah.
The team shot 294 (first round) and 292 (second round) on day one, and finished the third round with a 290, giving them a total score of 876. The Highlanders were two strokes short of UCSB, who won the tournament.
Senior David Gazzolo, sophomore Sam Gillis and freshman Anthony Bonales skewed the results with their stellar scores of 68 (four under par), 71 (under par) and 75. Gazzolo was only one stroke away from the tournament winner, UCSB’s Hunter Robinson.
Gillis actually led the Highlanders after day one, with a score of an even 144, holding the second-place overall position. It was Bonales and Gazzolo who tied for third and seventh respectively, with scores of 145 (+1) and 146 (+2).
The rest of the team fared well, as Matt Lutz finished tied for 22nd with 227 total, while Andre Vu placed 49th with an overall score of 239. In the individuals, sophomore Brandon Tsujimoto shot 81 and 74 in the first and second rounds, but did not play in the third round, finishing with a score of 155.
The Highlanders’ next match is at the Big West Championships from April 26-28 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
