Sycuan Invt'l: Colo. State wins 3rd straight
Wichita State photo
EL CAJON, Calif. (Oct. 21, 2008) – With the end of the fall season upon college golf, and the spring slate more than three months away, the CSU Rams wish they could keep playing right through into the second half of the season. That is because, despite the autumn weather, Head Coach Jamie Bermel’s squad is as hot as it’s ever been, capturing its third consecutive team title – and fourth in five total fall tournaments – to begin the 2008-09 season.
On Tuesday, the Rams, who are ranked 27th in the nation in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin performance index, extended their streak of victories with a come-from-behind effort at the Sycuan Collegiate Invitational, hosted by San Diego State University, at the Willow Glen Golf Club’s par-72 6,687-yard course.
“This was a really nice way for us to end the fall season,” said Bermel. “This will really motivate us and keep our guys focused as we prepare for a tough schedule in the spring.”
The Rams (280-276-281—837), stormed back from a six-stroke deficit to overtake Day-1 leader San Diego and held off UC Santa Barbara (289-276-273—838) by a margin of just one stroke. San Diego (276-274-289—839) slid into third place.
Wichita State's Dustin Garza was the medalist, taking the title by four strokes at 16-under-par.
Bryce Hanstad, who opened the season with a win at the Gene Miranda Invitational in September, ended the fall on a note nearly as high, with a second-place finish on Tuesday. Hanstad opened the tournament with rounds of 68 and 65 and fired a final-round 71 to finish four strokes behind Garza.
Freshman Zahkai Brown, fresh off of his first collegiate victory at last week’s Del Walker Intercollegiate, gave the Rams another top-10 performer. Brown fired his best round of the tournament on Tuesday with a 68 and finished at 6-under-par in sole possession of 10th place.
Junior Riley Arp (-4) finished tied for 19th, his fourth top-20 performance of the year, while senior Zen Brown and junior Dustin Morris finished tied for 35th at even-par.
--Story by Danny Mattle, CSU media relations