Tournament: NCAA West Regional Spring Preview
Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Location: Rohnert Park, Calif.
Course: Foxtail Golf Club (par-72 / 6,851 yards)
Team Winner: CSUSM (853, -11)
Top Cougar & Individual Medalist: T1. Matt Pennington (215, -8)

COURSE REPORT:  The No. 23/NR Cal State San Marcos men's golf team concluded the regular season on a high note, winning the NCAA West Region Spring Preview with a tournament-low 7-under 281 in the final round. With three Cougars finishing in the top five, Matt Pennington was named an individual co-medalist alongside Jordan Lee of Western Washington.

FIRST TEE

• Pennington captured his fifth career win after shooting a 3-under 69 on Tuesday to finish with an 8-under 208 (73-66-69).
• Cutter Ayres shot the lowest round of the day at 68 with three other golfers, concluding the tournament with a 6-under 210 (72-70-68) for third place.
• Matthew Moss tied for fifth place with Sonoma State's Colin Huang, finishing with a 3-under 213 (66-76-71).
• Greg Mouser moved up nine spots after carding a 1-over 73 in the final round to record a three-round total of 8-over 224 (77-74-73) for 51st place.
• Jason McElroy turned in a 14-over 230 (75-78-77) to tie for 79th place.

TEAM SCOREBOARD
1. Cal State San Marcos 286-286-281 – 853 (-11); 2. Sonoma State 288-284-291 – 863 (-1); 3. Hawaii Hilo 283-292-291 – 866 (+2); 4. Western Washington 287-291-289 – 867 (+3); 5. Cameron 283-301-285 – 869 (+5); 6. Midwestern State 286-294-292 – 872 (+8); 7. Stanislaus State 291-295-292 – 878 (+14); 8. Cal State San Bernardino 288-300-292 – 880 (+16); 9. Cal State East Bay 295-289-302 – 886 (+22); 10. Holy Names 301-296-290 – 887 (+23); 11. University of Colorado – Colorado Springs 294-298-296 – 888 (+24); 12. Cal State Monterey Bay 297-304-292 – 893 (+29); 13. Simon Fraser 297-300-298 – 895 (+31); 14. Colorado State-Pueblo 299-295-303 – 897 (+33); 15. Cal State Dominguez Hills 300-305-293 – 898 (+34); T16. Hawai'i Pacific 301-300-308 – 909 (+45); T16. Dominican 292-310-307 – 909 (+45); T18. Academy of Art 303-310-299 – 912 (+48); T18. UT Tyler 305-306-301 – 912 (+48); 20. Saint Martin's 307-309-301 – 917 (+53); 21. Sonoma State B 303-308-307 – 918 (+54).  

INDIVIDUAL SCOREBOARD
T1. Matt Pennington (CSUSM) 73-66-69 – 208 (-8); T1. Jordan Lee (WWU) 69-70-69 – 208 (-8); 3. Cutter Ayres (CSUSM) 69-70-68 – 210 (-6); 4. Keith Ng (UHH) 70-69-73 – 212 (-4); T5. Matthew Moss (CSUSM) 66-76-71 – 213 (-3); T5. Colin Huang (SSU) 70-75-68 – 213 (-3); T5. Griffin Pace (SSU) 72-67-74 – 213 (-3); 8. Aidan Goodfellow (SFU) 71-75-68 – 214 (-2); T9. Seth Bearden (MSU) 72-74-69 – 215 (-1); T9. Mark Williams (CSUSB) 71-71-73 – 215 (-1); OTHER CSUSM SCORERS: T51. Greg Mouser 77-74-73 – 224 (+8); T79. Jason McElroy 75-78-77 – 230 (+14).
 
INSIDE THE SCORECARD

• Pennington tied the second-lowest 54-hole total of his career, which he achieved at the 2022 Bay Area Invitational. His lowest three-round total was a 9-under 204, which he accomplished to win the 2022 NCAA Division II West/South Central Regional.
• Raising his total to five wins, Pennington is already the CSUSM men's golf career win leader. Dylan Healey (2015-16) and Adam Loran (2010-13) are tied for second with three wins.
• Ayres recorded the best finish in his collegiate career, breaking into the top five for the first time of his career.
• CSUSM led the field in Par 4 Scoring (4.07, +10) while finishing second in pars (168) and eagles (3).
• Pennington dominated Par 4 scoring (3.77, -7) with Ayres and Colin Huang tied for second (3.93, -2).
• CSUSM's 853 was the eighth-lowest 54-hole total in program history.
• This was CSUSM's fourth tournament win of the 2022-23 season. 
   

UP NEXT
The Cougars will host the CCAA Championships next week, April 17-19, at Victoria Club in Riverside, California.