The golf team competed in the Elco Invitational on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, taking fifth place in a field of seven teams. The tournament was hosted by Cal State Bakersfield and was played at the difficult par-71 Stocksdale Country Club in Bakersfield, Calif.
“”Even though this course was 1,200 yards shorter than Crosswater Club, [the site of the season’s first tournament], the scores were much higher,”” said UCSD head coach Mike Wydra. “”Stocksdale has a very traditional design, lots of doglegs, deep roughs and fast greens.””
Chico State turned in strong performances both days, shooting 281, 293 and 286 in the three rounds, leading the tournament in both the first and third rounds. The Chico team finished in first with an 8-over-par 860 and three of its golfers placing in the top 10.
CSU Bakersfield, UC Davis and St. Martin’s College were all able to break a team total score of 900, with scores of 870, 879 and 887, respectively. St. Martin had the lowest team score for a round — a 291 in the second — but two other rounds of just under 300 left the team 27 strokes behind Chico State.
UCSD finished with a score of 901, shooting 303, 298 and 300 in the three respective rounds, putting it at 49 over par. The Tritons were competitive in the second round, where they only shot seven strokes higher than the leader, but their scores of 300 and 303 left them 41 strokes behind Chico State at the end of the tournament.
Cal State San Bernardino and Northwest Nazarene rounded out the rest of the top seven, with scores of 929 and 931, respectively.
Individually, UCSD junior Jan Godoski tied for third place with D.J. Fernando of CSU Bakersfield, each shooting impressive scores of 214, 1-over-par. Godoski had one of only five rounds under par in the tournament, and the second-best round of the day on Oct. 28, with a 67 in the second round.
“”Jan had an excellent performance for his first tournament of the year,”” Wydra said. “”When you get a solid group of good players together, they will progress at their own rate, and he definitely stepped up this time.””
After Godoski was junior Alan Scheer, who was coming off an impressive 2-over-par finish in the Tritons’ first season of the year, with a 13-over-par 226, landing him in 21st place at the Elco Invitational. The next UCSD golfer was freshman Robbie Kramer — who posted a 5-over-par in the previous tournament — with an 18-over-par score of 231, giving him a 26th place finish.
The two remaining Tritons that competed, freshman Ryo Yamada and senior Blake Schneider, tied for 28th and 31st, respectively. Yamada shot a 20-over-par 233, and Schneider scored 234, 21-over-par.
Looking ahead, the Tritons will compete in another tournament on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, playing on the La Quinta course located in Palm Desert, Calif.
“”This course is rated one of the top 50 courses in the U.S.,”” Wydra said of La Quinta, guaranteeing a good tournament and a challenge for UCSD.