UCSD’s golf team finished seventh amidst a field of nine Division II teams in the Family Motors Invitational on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25. The tournament was hosted by CSU Bakersfield and was held at the Seven Oaks Country Club in Bakersfield, Calif.
“”This was our first spring tournament; we haven’t had any competitive play for a while, so we were a little on the rusty side,”” said UCSD head coach Mike Wydra.
The Bakersfield Roadrunners lead the pack of Division II teams with scores of 275, 285 and 281 in the three rounds of the tournament, giving them a team score of 841 (23 under par). This was the fifth consecutive win for Bakersfield in its Family Motors Invitational, and its score put it one short of the tournament record of 863 from 2000.
Western Washington and Chico State finished off the top three, with scores of 851 and 855, respectively. Grand Canyon, St. Martin’s College and Western Mexico came in fourth, fifth and sixth, and posted scores of 871, 891 and 898, respectively.
UCSD placed seventh with a score of 909 (45 over par) for the tournament. The Tritons’ round scores were 302, 301 and 306.
CSU San Bernardino and CSU Dominguez Hills came in eighth and ninth with team scores of 919 and 936, respectively.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo had the second-best score of the tourney at 846, but its Division I standing put it in a different bracket from UCSD. Travis Bertoni of Cal Poly shot a course record of an 11-under-par 205 to give him the top individual spot in the invitational.
“”We had played this course before, but they added nine holes this time that we had never played, and we had a bit of wetness as well on Tuesday,”” Wydra said, explaining some of the difficulties the team faced during the tournament.
Individually, UCSD junior Alan Scheer had the low score for the team with a 1-over-par 217. Scheer shot scores of 74, 70 and 73 in his three rounds, which put him in a tie for 13th place with Andy Barnum of Chico State. Scheer’s 70 in the second round was only one above the leading score for the day, a 69.
The next two Tritons were freshmen Robbie Kramer and Ryo Yamada, who both finished in a tie for 34th place with a score of 230. Krammer shot a 74 in his first round, but followed that up with two 78s, while Yamada started with a 76 and finished with two 77s.
Coming in fourth for UCSD was senior Blake Schneider, whose 233 put him at 17 over par and in 40th place for the tournament. Schneider shot 78, 77 and 78 during his three rounds. The Tritons’ final golfer, sophomore Eugene Itkin, shot 248, posting scores of 83, 77 and 88 in his three rounds.
Looking ahead, the Tritons have two big tournaments in four days, starting with the Aztec Invitational on March 1 and March 2, followed by the CSU San Marcos Invitational, which takes place on March 3 and March 4.
“”These Division II matches help us move toward a regional birth,”” Wydra said. “”Everyone has been practicing hard, and with the upcoming tournaments, I think we’ll find our five best players.””
