Final Results
VICTORIA, Texas – Redemption is sweet.
A year after finishing one stroke behind Victoria (B.C.) in the 2012 Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Conference Championship, the third-ranked Cal State San Marcos men's golf team left no doubt in this year's tournament, leading the field throughout the entire 54 holes en route its first-ever A.I.I. title.
The Cougars had an eight-shot lead after Monday's first round and finished with a three-round total of 10-over 874 at Victoria Country Club, seven strokes better than runner-up No. 13 British Columbia.
After surviving through rainy conditions to shoot 6-over 294 in the first round, the Cougars kept their eight-shot lead by posting 1-over 289 on Tuesday morning. They finished with a 3-over 291 in the final round, helped by a 69 (-3) from
Brian Walker, a 73 (+1) by
Adam Loran, and a 74 (+2) and 75 (+3) by freshmen
Ryan Odom and
Scott Shefflette, respectively.
“It's tough to win when you're the favorite going into a tournament with so much on the line, and the guys knew that,” said CSUSM head coach
Greg Hutton. “I was confident in them, but not sure how they would handle the pressure. Every one of the guys came through when we needed them.”
Four Cougars placed in the top 10 of the individual standings, none higher than 6-over for the entire tournament. Loran finished the tournament at 1-under 215 after carding a first-round 69 and a pair of 73's. He tied for second with Conner Kozak of British Columbia, two strokes behind Houston-Victoria's Vance Edwards.
Odom sandwiched a 3-under 69 in between a pair of 74's to shoot 1-over 217 for the tournament. He placed fourth, three shots ahead of the fifth-place Walker (77-74-69-220, +4). Shefflette tied for eighth at 6-over 222 after posting 74-75-76.
Steven Gouirand placed 23
rd at 17-over 233 (83-74-76).
The tournament title marks the first conference championship in program history and is a suitable step up due to the trend the program has shown over the past four seasons. The Cougars finished fourth in 2010, third in 2011, second in 2012, and now holds the hardware.
“This was a true team effort and I am very proud of them. We've got one more tournament to try and win this year,” said Hutton.
CSUSM receives an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships in Salem, Ore., May 14-17, at Creekside Golf Club.
