The No. 6 UCSD golf team came in third place in a field of 14 teams at the Cal State San Bernardino Coyote Classic Invitational from March 22 to March 23 at the Hesperia Country Club in Victorville, Calif.
For their second straight outing, the Tritons came home with a third place finish, this time shooting an 888 to finish 24 over par. With a strong start on March 22, UCSD shot 292 in their first round. The Tritons came back in the afternoon to shoot a 302, but once again dipped below 300 on March 23, finishing with a 294.
The Tritons defeated No. 4 finisher Western Washington University by one stroke. UCSD also finished ahead of No. 3 University of Hawaii-Hilo.
“As far as quickness of the greens were concerned, I would equate them to a 1978 shag carpet,” Wydra said. “The course wasn’t really up to the standards of college tours, and I think the players were scoring in spite of the conditions, instead of because of them. Still, it was probably the most fun course of its kind that we’ve played.”
The only teams to best UCSD were No. 2 Cal State Bakersfield and No. 5 Cal State Stanislaus.
Cal State Bakersfield took first place, turning in rounds of 285, 299 and 295, giving the Roadrunners a total score of 879, finishing 15 over par. CSUS netted rounds of 292, 302 and 287, to finish with 881, 17 over par.
Individually, the Tritons cracked into the top ten once again as senior team captain Alan Scheer placed ninth with a score of 218, two over par. Scheer started March 22 with a 71, and despite a slight setback of a 76 on that afternoon, he returned to form on the 23rd with another 71.
“It’s great to see Al coming back and playing better,” Wydra said. “He’s the star of the team, and we go how he goes.”
Junior Joe Dolby came in second for UCSD, and tied for a 16th place finish over all with a total of 222, six over par. Maintaining a consistent game throughout, Dolby shot three consecutive rounds of 74.
“We’re content with our finishes lately, third in our last 2 tournaments, but we all know we can play better,” Dolby said. “Al stepped up and played solid, but he still had one round he wasn’t proud of. As for me, I haven’t played poorly all year, but with the exception of one round, I haven’t played that well either. I think my game is coming around [now].”
Sophomore Ryo Yamada placed third for the Tritons and tied overall for 23rd place. Though he struggled early with a 79, Yamada followed up with a 75 and a 72 to give him a 226, 10 over par.
“Ryo has been a really interesting addition to our team, after he earned a spot onto the team at Santaluz,” coach Wydra said. “It was really windy the second day, but he managed to maintain a two under par almost throughout the round, which was a real testament to his skill.”
Coming in fourth for UCSD, and in a tie for 36th place, was sophomore Justin Grant. Shooting rounds of 72, 77 and 81, he finished with a 230, 14 over par.
Rounding out the team in a rare fifth place Triton finish was junior Brian Duckworth, who tied for 41st place. He turned in rounds of 75, 79 and 77, to end up with a 231, 15 over par.
“Brian decided to change his putting style completely before this tournament, and was having a lot of trouble as a result,” Wydra said. “With three holes left in the second round, I asked him to change back to his previous style, and he promptly one-putted those three holes, so I think he’s back to normal now.”
The Tritons will see action once again at the UC Davis Aggie Invitational, taking place on March 29 and March 30, at the El Macero Country Club in Davis.
