CHICO, Calif. - The Cal State San Marcos men's golf team announced its arrival in NCAA Division II and the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) by winning the InterWest Wildcat Invite by six strokes on Tuesday afternoon at Butte Creek Country Club. It was the first competition for CSUSM as a member of NCAA Division Candidacy Year Two.
CSUSM trailed host Chico State by four strokes heading into the final round, but beat the Wildcats by 10 shots today to win the 15-team competition with a three-round total of 3-over 867 (298-280-289). Chico State finished at 9-over 873 (282-292-299).
TJ Masters led the charge with a 3-under 69,
Ryan Odom shot an even-par 72,
Dylan Healey carded a 73 and
Scott Shefflette rounded out the scoring with a 75 for a final round, 1-over 289.
"We showed up and we did it," said CSUSM head coach
Greg Hutton. "This group of guys knows what they're capable of and I think we showed that this week against some really good teams from the West Region and CCAA."
Healey earned his third medalist honor as a collegian with a total of 5-under 211. After a second-round 66 put him into an overnight share of the lead, Healey recorded a respectable 73 in today's final round to win the individual title by three strokes over three other players.
He trailed Lee Gearhart of Chico State by one heading onto the 17
th tee, but the two switched positions after a double bogey by Gearhart and a par by Healey. Healey then birdied the 18
th hole to clinch the title as Gearhart bogeyed.
Gearhart tied for second at -2 along with Ty Macias and Mark Milton of Dominican.
Healey led the field in par-5 scoring (-7) and total birdies (15).
Shefflette finished the day where he started, in eighth place, at 2-over 218 (76-67-75).
Masters, who had finished in the 60's just one other time in his collegiate career, made six birdies and went 35-34 in his final round. He tied for 10
th at 4-over 220 (75-76-69).
Odom tied for 15
th at 5-over 221 (75-74-72). He traded three birdies with three bogeys on Tuesday.
Christian Nicolini's 78 in the final round was thrown out, but his 1-over 73 proved to be crucial in the second round. He finished tied for 62
nd at 19-over 235 (84-73-78).
The competition consisted of five other CCAA squads and six squads ranked in the top 50 of scoring in NCAA Division II Golfstat. Chico State and Simon Fraser finished the 2014-15 season ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the West Region and No. 5 and No. 11 nationally, respectively.
Teams1. Cal State San Marcos 298-280-289 – 867, +3; 2. Chico State 282-292-299 – 873, +9; 3. Simon Fraser 289-293-300 – 882, +18; 4. Dominican 297-294-294 – 885, +21; 5. Western Washington 294-300-293 – 887, +23;
Other team scores: 6. Stanislaus State 302-300-291 – 893, +29; 7. Cal State East Bay 298-301-301 – 901, +37; 8. Cal State San Bernardino 307-296-301 – 904, +40; 13. Cal State Dominguez Hills 311-310-315 – 936, +72.
Individuals1. Dylan Healey (CSUSM) 72-66-73 – 211, -5; T2. Lee Gearhart (Chico) 65-76-73 – 214, -2; T2. Ty Macias (Dom) 72-70-72 – 214, -2; T2. Mark Milton (Dom) 76-70-68 – 214.
CSUSM scores: 8. Scott Shefflette (CSUSM) 76-67-75 – 218, +2; T10. TJ Masters (CSUSM) 75-76-69 -220, +4; T15. Ryan Odom (CSUSM) 75-74-72 – 221, +5; T62. Christian Nicolini (CSUSM) 84-73-78 – 235, +19.
