CSUSM, UCLA JV tie for first at Cougar Classic

Host Cal State University San Marcos and the UCLA junior varsity team tied for first place at the Cougar Classic Men’s Golf Invitational held February 28 and March 1 at the San Luis Rey Downs Country Club in Bonsall.

The UCLA JV team overcame a 15-stroke deficit after the first two rounds to join Cal State San Marcos with the low team score of 864 for the 54-hole tournament.

“Unfortunately we kind of fell back the last round,” said Cal State San Marcos coach Fred Hanover.

College golf teams include five players, and the scores of the top four golfers in each round are counted as the team score while the highest score is discarded. In the first round on the 6,523-yard, par-71 course San Marcos had a team score of 79, the lowest team round of any of the ten teams in the tournament. The high score for San Marcos which was thrown out was the 73-stroke round of Daniel Macdonough while the low round for the Cougars was shot by Casey Sartori, who took 67 strokes to complete the 18 holes.

Holy Names University, which finished third in the tournament with a team score of 868, had the second-lowest team score after the first round with 279. The UCLA JV had a team score of 291 after the first round to place fourth after 18 holes.

Cal State San Marcos led the other nine teams in the second round with a score of 287, one less than the second-round figure of the Simon Frazier University team which would finish fifth in the tournament. Garett Dagg’s 70 led the Cougars in the second round while two Cougar golfers shared the high score with 74, one of which was counted in the team score while the other 74 was discarded. The UCLA JV had a team score of 289 for the second round.

The UCLA JV’s team score of 284 in the third round led the final 18 holes. Cal State San Marcos shot a team total of 299, the seventh-best final round figure among the ten teams. Macdonough had the Cougar low score with 72 while Dagg and Kenny Adams had 74-stroke rounds, but Matt Higley shot a 79 while Sartori’s 80-shot round was thrown out.

Hanover believes that the team was trying too hard at the end. “All they had to do was play normal,” he said. “That’s the hardest thing.”

Hanover hopes that leading the first two rounds convinced the team that they can win by playing normal. “They’re good enough that we can win anything,” he said.

Although the ending was a disappointment for Hanover, the result was pleasing. “If you had said that before the tournament started, I would have been thrilled,” he said of tying for first.

“It’s still a win,” he said of sharing the title. “I’m happy.”

Dagg’s score of 213 led the Cougars and placed third among individual golfers. Brett Whiteman of Point Loma Nazarene University had the best individual score, shooting a total of 212 after rounds of 71, 71, and 70.

Adams, a 2004 Fallbrook High School graduate, tied for tenth in the tournament with a score of 218. He had rounds of 70, 74, and 74.