The UCSD golf team finished fourth out of 16 teams at the Cal State San Marcos Invitational on March 1 and March 2 at the San Luis Rey Downs in San Marcos, Calif.

The Tritons, who are ranked sixth nationally among Division II teams, continued to finish in the top half of their tournaments, despite competing against non-Division II schools.

“The course itself was pretty reasonable,” head coach Mike Wydra said. “But the weather was just dismal. It rained both days, creating flooded low points and soggy greens. The ball just wasn’t rolling right.”

Despite the difficult conditions, the Tritons still managed to shoot rounds of 303, 291 and 302 for a total of 896, or 32 over par. The 291 UCSD shot on March 1 was the low score of the invitational for that round.

“The guys have made a habit of shooting the low round in our tournaments lately, and I hope they keep that up,” Wydra said.

Of the three teams who topped UCSD, tourney host Cal State San Marcos took a first place finish, turning in rounds of 293, 295 and 298 to end up with 886, 22 over par.

Johnson and Wales University took second, with rounds of 299, 296 and 296 to give them an 891, 27 over par. Point Loma Nazarene shot rounds of 295, 295 and 302 to give them a total of 892, 28 over par.

Individually, junior Brian Duckworth tied for a third-place overall finish. Duckworth shot rounds of 71, 70 and 77 for a 218, two over par. His 70 was the low score for the round and put him in a tie for first place after March 1. This was Duckworth’s third top-10 finish in his last three tournaments.

“Brian had a chance to win the tournament if he had been able to just par three holes that he had averaged birdie on in an earlier round,” Wydra said. “Unfortunately, he went bogey, bogey, bogey.”

Junior Joe Dolby returned to play for the Tritons after not competing in UCSD’s last tournament, and quickly made his presence felt with a top-10 finish. His rounds of 75, 71 and 75 earned him a 221, five over par, and a tie for eighth overall.

Senior Alan Scheer tied for 25th place, turning in rounds of 79, 76 and 72 to give him a 227, 11 over par.

Sophomore Justin Grant took the fourth spot for the Tritons, with rounds of 78, 74 and 78. His 230, 14 over par, earned him a tie for 37th place.

Junior Jan Godoski rounded out UCSD’s team, shooting rounds of 79, 76 and 79. Finishing with a 234, 18 over par, he tied for 54th place.

The Tritons return to action on March 8 and March 9, when they host their own tournament, the Southern California Collegiate Championship in Del Mar, Calif.