COTO DE CAZA, Calif. — The final round of the inaugural Orange County Invitational hosted by Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine Tuesday could not have been more exciting. The final round featured five eagles, two aces, and a miraculous finish on 18th as the University of San Francisco men's golf team captured its first team championship since April 2018.
After finishing the first and second round in first place, USF held off a hard-charging Titans team to finish atop the leaderboard with a 12-over 876 (291-294-291). It was the first tournament title for the Dons since winning the Redhawk Invitational at Chambers Bay Golf Club on April 2-3, 2018. The Dons had four players crack the top-10 Tuesday with senior
Tim Widing climbing three spots on the leaderboard to finish in third.
"What a week!" said head coach
Jack Kennedy. "The guys battled all week in really tough conditions on a very difficult golf course. I couldn't be prouder of the way we responded in the face of adversity. Specifically,
Alex Chin was amazing all week. He just played really solid from tee to green and had a really good putter.
"Obviously, the finish was really exciting. We had a couple of opportunities to pull ahead. Cal State Fullerton played extremely well today, but our guys continued to fight all the way 'till the end. Watching Tim make eagle on 18 was incredible. Again, really proud of the guys and am excited to get going the rest of the spring and get to San Diego."
The exciting finish culminated on 18. Cal State Fullerton's Derek Castillo, the individual champion, birdied 17 and 18 to give the Titans a two-stroke lead with Widing putting for eagle. Left with a 16-foot eagle putt, Widing holed it to preserve the win for the Dons. It was Widing's second eagle of the back-9 as the senior was totally locked in. He finished 1-under on the day and shot an even par 216 (71-74-71) for the tournament.
The day started rough for Widing, who carded a double bogey on one and a triple bogey on three. But he immediately responded with a birdie on four and finished the back-9 with a birdie on nine to go into the turn 3-over. On the back-9, a pair of pars preceded an eagle on 12 to bring him 1-over – all culminating with the dramatic eagle on 18.
Alex Chin recorded his third career top-10 finish after finishing in fourth place. His 1-over 217 (71-73-73) is his best round to par of the season and his fourth-place finish ties a career-best with his fourth-place finish at the Olympic Club Invitational in 2019. Birdies on three, nine, and 12 gave him 12 for the tournament which was is a season high.
Sophomore
Matthew Anderson moved up two spots on the final day to finish tied for sixth with a 5-over 221 (71-76-74). The fifth-place finish is Anderson's third top-10 finish this season. Anderson's tremendous round began with a par on one and two. A bogey on three had him one over when he aced the par-3 fourth. It was one of two holes-in-one for the Dons. He went on to birdie six and 16 to give him eight for the tournament.
Junior
Toby Briggs had the Dons' other ace on the day. Briggs opened the day with a bogey on two and a double on three. His round turned around on the 197-yard par-3 where he recorded his first collegiate hole-in-one. He added three birdies on the back to give him 11 for the tournament. Briggs climbed six spots on the final day to finish tied for ninth with a 6-over 222 (78-71-73).
Soren Lind finished tied for 60th with an 18-over 234 (79-76-79). He eagled three and birdied the fifth. For the tournament, he had four birdies and an eagle. The Dons finished the tournament with 45 birdies which was tied for second most and six eagles which led the tournament.
USF returns to action March 9-10 when they participate in the Lampkin Grips Intercollegiate at the San Diego Country Club hosted by San Diego State.
Please mark your calendars for the Hall of Fame Dinner on February 21
st at 6:30 PM in the McLaren Conference Center on USF's campus. We will honor our Dons of the Year, Kevin and Susan Hanley, as well as our inductees that include Dior Lowhorn (men's basketball, 2010), Joy Boyenga (women's basketball, 1992), and Kyle Zimmer (baseball, 2012). Tickets are available now at
usfdons.com/halloffame.
