SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The No. 23/NR Cal State San Marcos men's golf team will play in the Battle in the Desert hosted by Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay on Monday, Feb. 27 to Wednesday, March 1. The three-day 54-hole tournament will be played at PGA West in La Quinta, California.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Cougars defended their CSUSM Fujikura Invitational title with a two-stroke victory after carding a 9-over 873 on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Shadowridge Golf Course.
- Playing as an individual, Greg Mouser was CSUSM's top golfer with a share of second place after carding a three-round score of 2-under 214 (71-71-72).
- Mouser was named CCAA Co-Golfer of the Week with CSUSB's Jacob Calderon (see below)
| TOURNAMENT 6 | BATTLE IN THE DESERT |
| Dates |
Monday, Feb. 27 - Wednesday, March 1 |
| Tee Time |
9:30 a.m. |
| Location |
La Quinta, Calif. |
| Course |
PGA West Resort Pete Dye Mountain Course (par 72, 6,666) |
| Live Scoring |
GolfStat |
| CSUSM Team |
- Matt Pennington
- Greg Mouser
- Jason McElroy
- Matthew Moss
- Cutter Ayres
|
| Participating Teams |
Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State East Bay, Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State San Marcos, Chico State, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, Hawaii-Hilo, Montana State Billings, Regis, Saint Martin's, Sonoma State, Stanislaus State, Western New Mexico, Western Washington |
BATTLE IN THE DESERT
- The Battle in the Desert is a new tournament, replacing Cal State San Bernardino's Coyote Classic.
- CSUSB and Cal State Monterey Bay are co-hosting the event.
- The tournament will consist of 18 rounds of golf each day.
- The Mountain Course, nestled at the base of the picturesque Santa Rosa Mountains, is famed for its Pete Dye design, playability and stunning visuals. This ultra-challenging course features pot bunkers, rock formations, elevations of tee boxes and well-bunkered greens.
COUGAR OUTLOOK
- With eight returners from the 2021-22 team, this year's squad only has one new face with transfer Patrick Jaksch from Saddleback College.
- Redshirt sophomore Matt Pennington returns to defend his CCAA Tournament Title and NCAA West/South Central Regional Title.
- The 2021-22 team won three tournaments including the CSUSM Fujikura Invitational.
- CSUSM placed in the top 10 in eight of its 10 tournaments last season including a third-place finish at the CCAA Championships.
THE HUTTON FILE
- Head coach Greg Hutton has been at the helm of the men's program since the 2010-11 season and was named the women's head coach in 2014.
- The CSUSM women's team was the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship runner-up, led by National Champion Jaime Jacob.
- The CSUSM men's golfer Matt Pennington was the program's first-ever CCAA Champion and NCAA West/South Central Regional Champion in 2022.
- Under Hutton's leadership, the women's team won CSUSM's first CCAA Championship in school history in 2018 and the Cougars defended their title in 2019 and 2022.
- In CSUSM's first year of being a full-fledged NCAA Division II member in 2017-18, the Cougar men's and women's golf teams each qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships.
