Hot off a fifth-place finish at the UCLA Gold Rush tournament earlier this month, the UCSD golf team took third in a field of 11 teams at the Western Washington University Invitational on Sept. 27 and Sept. 28, held at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club in Bellingham, Wash.
As a team, the Tritons encountered slight difficulty in the opening round on Sept. 27, turning in a score of 294, 6 over par, which early on put them in fifth place.
UCSD came back for the afternoon round and shot a 290, 2 over par, and shaved a whole 10 strokes off the team total on Sept. 28 with an 8-under-par score of 280, putting the team in a tie for the lowest round in the tournament. The Tritons finished the tournament in third place with a final of 864, even par, and two strokes lower than their score at the UCLA Gold Rush tournament.
First place tournament honors fell to University of Hawaii-Hilo, whose round scores of 289, 281 and 280 netted a total of 850, 14 shots under par. Tournament host Western Washington University took second place, turning in scores of 282, 293 and 280 to complete the tournament five shots back at 855.
UCSD bested fellow California Collegiate Athletic Association rivals Cal State Stanislaus, which came in sixth, and Grand Canyon University, which took eighth. Most impressively, however, the Tritons toppled Cal State Chico, last year’s second place team in the CCAA, by a 20-stroke margin.
UCSD was once again led by senior star Brian Duckworth, who was coming off a 12th place finish at the UCLA Gold Rush. Duckworth started off hot on Sept. 27 with a score of 69 on the par-72 course, cooling off a bit in the afternoon to shoot an even 72. On Sept. 28, he turned in a 68, tying for the lowest UCSD round score, and giving himself a total of 209, 7 under par, and a second place finish overall in a field of 60 golfers.
Sophomore Ryo Yamada was the second Triton to finish, tying for seventh place with a 212. Yamada shot rounds of 74 and 70 on Sept. 27, and finished the tournament with a 68 on Sept. 28, tying Duckworth for the lowest UCSD round.
Fellow sophomore Luke Leveillee earned third place honors for UCSD, and tied for 26th overall, finishing with a score of 221. Leveillee shot 76 and 74 on Sept. 27, and came back with a 71 the next day.
Senior Joe Dolby earned the fourth spot for the Tritons, with his 229, which landed him in a tie for 41st place. Dolby had solid rounds on Sept. 27, shooting a 75 and 74, but ran into trouble on the second day of the competition, shooting a frustrating 8-over-par 80.
Senior Robbie Kramer filled out the squad for UCSD, ending up in a tie for 49th place with a 235. Kramer had some difficulty in the tournament’s opening rounds, as he turned in scores of 82 and 80, but he returned on Sept. 28 to shoot a 73.
The Tritons return to the course on Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 at the Chico State Invitational at the Butte Creek Country Club in Chico, Calif. Last year, UCSD finished the tournament in fifth place as Duckworth led the Tritons with a ninth place finish.
