UCSD Freshman Clayton Yamaguchi finished third in a field of 23 participants at the California Collegiate Athletics Association conference tournament at the Hunter Ranch Golf Course in Paso Robles, Calif., April 22 and April 23.
“Clayton’s solo third-place finish was a fantastic achievement, and we are all very proud of him,” UCSD head coach Mike Wydra said to the UCSD Athletics Department. “He made 18 birdies during the tournament, second only to the 19 made by the eventual winner.”
Overall, the Tritons placed fifth out of eight teams, with an overall score of 874 (+10) after three rounds of play. Cal State Monterey Bay finished first with a score of 845 (-19), to break the former course record by one stroke. The Otters finished nine strokes in front of Cal State Stanislaus (-10) and 15 strokes in front of third-place Sonoma State.
“We’re not satisfied,” Yamaguchi said. “We know we can beat a couple of the teams we lost to. It’s kind of hard, but we’re gonna use that as motivation.”
Sophomore Jay Lim — who finished with a 211 last season on the same course at the CCAAs —carded a 221 (+5) to tie for 18th overall. Junior Lewis Simon also ended with a score of 221.
The only Triton not to finish in the top 20 was freshman Daniel Yang, who ended in 29th place with a 228.
When asked about his teammates’ performances, Yamaguchi said that both Simon and Lim are far better than what their scores reflected.
“They’re much better than that,” Yamaguchi said. “But I mean, it’s kind of a tough place, and you have to be on your game, and they’ll be back and ready for regionals.”
CSU Monterey Bay’s Brandon Hortt was the tournament’s top finisher — the fifth straight Otter to win the conference title — ending with a score of 204 (-12). Second place finisher, Cal State Stanislaus’ Tyler Baker, ended at 209 (-7).
After their fifth-place finish, the Tritons have dropped to eighth place in the West Regional rankings, in front of Cal State East Bay and Dixie State University. It is yet to be seen if the Tritons will remain in the top 10 to qualify for the NCAA Division II West/Central Regional, held May 6 to May 8 at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash. The selection will be announced later in the week.
“We’re all really excited; it’s always a great experience to play at the NCAA level, like in regionals,” Yamaguchi said. “We all learned something at conference, and are going to work on it and try and improve and play well as a team. If we can all play well as a team, I think we will do very well.”
