GOLF UPDATE

BY KYLE TREMBLEY
CONTRIBUTOR

Cal State San Marcos came within a single stroke of a surprise win at its own tournament, but it was Holy Names coming from behind to edge out CSUSM to capture the title for the third straight year.

Playing on the par-72 course at San Luis Rey Downs Country Club, the field of 80 golfers from 16 teams finished up play with Tuesday’s final round. Holy Names shot a final round 295, finishing at +19 (883). The Cougars, who held a slim two-stroke lead after Monday, shot 298 to finish at +20 (884). Point Loma took third at 892. Individually, Cal State Dominguez-Hills’ Ryan Indovina won the title, shooting three rounds of -1 (71) for a three-round total of -3 (213). Point Loma’s Ryan Ellerbrook took second at +1 (217), with Holy Names’ Stephen Edman third at +2 (218).

Though Coach Greg Hutton’s Cougar narrowly missed out on the championship, it was still an outstanding start to the season for CSUSM, who finished all the way back in 6th at this tournament last season.

Adam Loran led the way, finishing tied for 4th with a three-day total of +3 (219). Loran shot 77 on Tuesday after back-to-back 71’s on Monday had him tied for the lead. Second on the team was Kevin Ruby, whose final round score of -2 (70) matched the best of anyone at the tournament, and moved Ruby up from fifth place on his own team to a tie for 9th in the whole field. Marco Gomez and Robert Nicanor weren’t far behind, tying for 12th at +7 (223) for the tournament. Rounding out the squad was Jared Hentila, tied for 37th at 230.

The Cougars will look to carry the momentum from this strong finish into their next tournament, next month’s SMEE Builder’s Invitational, hosted by Point Loma.