The UCSD golf team hosted the 54th Southern California Intercollegiate Championship, held at the Santaluz Club in Del Mar, Calif. on March 8 and March 9.
The Tritons entered both an A and B team, with the A team placing third among the 18 competing schools. For the first time in the tournament’s history, the competing teams were all Division II, including UCSD, currently ranked fourth nationally, according to Golfstat.com.
“The course was really drying out for the second round on [March 8], and we made the pins even more difficult for the final round, which accounts for average scores of 78 in the last two rounds,” head coach Mike Wydra said.
Coming out of the starting gates, the Tritons’ A team began the tournament with a round total of 286, which not only put them in first place after one round, but was also the lowest round of the competition. Unfortunately, UCSD had a little difficulty in the second round on March 8, scoring a 307. Coming back on March 9 with a 299, the A team finished with a score of 892, or 40 over par, and third place in the tournament.
The only schools to defeat UCSD in the tournament were No. 1 Cal State Chico and No. 7 Cal State Stanislaus. Chico shot rounds of 290, 301 and 288, to give them a total score of 879, or 27 over par. Cal State Stanislaus finished with scores of 287, 297 and 299 for an 883 on the tournament, 31 over par.
“The course played exactly how I wanted it to,” Wydra said. “A lot of teams are used to shooting low, and when they have a difficult course like this, they tend to give up. Teams like Bakersfield especially struggled for this reason, and it was great to beat Bakersfield, which is ranked second nationally, and St. Mary’s, which is ranked sixth nationally. You have to be able to go low, but also realize that 75 can be a good score on a tough course.”
“We finished 16-2 for the tournament, which was just great, and helps solidify our chances for the national championships,” Wydra said
UCSD’s B team put together a solid showing, and despite being many of the player’s first tournament of the year, they turned in a score of 946, or 96 over par. This score was enough to give them a 15th-place finish, but they were not officially listed in the field of 18 teams.
Individually, UCSD was once again led by A team member junior Brian Duckworth, who finished in sole possession of sixth place, his fourth consecutive top-10 finish. Duckworth started off March 8 with a score of 69, which left him in a three-way tie for second place. His 69 was one of only five scores to break par on the early March 8 round, and one of only eight round totals to break par in the whole tournament. Duckworth struggled in the late March 8 round, shooting 77, but returned on March 9 with a 73, to give him a total of 219, or six over par.
Leading the B team and coming in second overall for the Tritons was sophomore Ryo Yamada, who put in rounds of 74, 77 and 74. He finished with a score of 225, 12 over par, which gave him a tie for 13th place overall.
“Ryo has a type of game that is particularly suited to this course, and he really caught our attention,” Wydra said. “His performance was an automatic qualifier to travel with us to our next tournament.”
A team member and team captain senior Alan Scheer came in third overall for UCSD, with round totals of 73, 76 and 77. His 226 gave him a 13 over par, and a tie for 16th place.
Sophomore Justin Grant was the third A team member, and fourth overall Triton, with scores of 73, 78 and 76. Finishing with a 227, 14 over par, he tied for 18th place.
“[This course] was definitely the hardest we have played all year, and it showed when top Division II teams in the nation like Bakersfield and Western Washington struggled,” Grant said. “The course definitely brought out the best players and teams in Division II, so to have a solid finish is good. But I think we all felt that we could have done better. It would have been great to win our own tournament, and we know that we could have if we had played just a little bit better.”
Junior A team member Joe Dolby came in fifth for UCSD, netting rounds of 80, 76 and 73. With a 229, 16 over par, he tied for 28th place overall.
The A team was rounded out by sophomore Robbie Kramer, who started off parring his first round on March 8 with a 71. Two consecutive 81’s, however, earned him a 233, 20 over par, and a tie for 45th.
“We have managed to have the low round of the tournament almost every time we go out, but have not been able to pull off a victory,” Kramer said. “Once we can put a few solid rounds together we will start winning. This is certainly within reach though, in light of how well we’ve been playing lately.”
Finishing second on the B team was junior Jan Godoski, who had rounds of 76, 77 and 85. Ending with a 238, 25 over par, he earned a tie for 62nd place.
Coming in third for the B team, and eighth overall for UCSD, was junior Eugene Itkin, who turned in rounds of 80, 78 and 84 for a 242, 29 over par. He tied for 74th place with fellow Triton and B team member Greg Wilson, a junior, who had rounds of 80, 81 and 81.
Rounding out the B team and the Triton squad was freshman Danny Min, who shot rounds of 84, 80 and 87. With a total of 251, 38 over par, he tied for 85th place.
UCSD returns to the links when it competes in the Cal State San Bernardino Invitational at Hesperia Country Club in Victorville, Calif. on March 22 and March 23.
