Final results
VALLEJO, Calif. - The Cal State East Bay men's golf team made up a seven-stroke lead after two rounds to out-do Grand Canyon for the tournament title on the final day of the Pioneer Shootout at Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo. Junior
Chris Herzog led the team, claiming the individual title, while six other Pioneers finished in the top 20 in a field of 70 players.
Herzog carded a third round 78 (+6), which was good enough to beat out Grand Canyon's Brandon Moore by two strokes. The pair entered the day tied for first after posting 143 (-1), but Moore finished with an 80 on the final day of the event. Herzog finished at five-over (221) after notching a first-round 72 and the Pioneers' lowest round of the tournament – one-under 71 – in the second round. The two leaders entered the final three holes tied at six-over par for the day, but Moore bogeyed the par-five 16th hole to fall one stroke back and Herzog sealed the victory with a birdie on 18, his fifth birdie of the day. Herzog's 71 in the first round was a season low and the win was his first this season and marked the third time he has led the Pioneers this year.
Jeff Cornez rebounded from a slow start on day one, carding East Bay's best score of the third round with a 72. Cornez took eight strokes off his first round score and six off his second-round 78 (+6) to finish tied for second on the team and 12th overall with a three-round total of 230 (+14).
A.J. Maxedon matched Cornez with a 230 of his own, finishing with his lowest score of the tournament – a three-over 75 that included a one-over 37 through the front nine.
Though he capped the tournament with a nine-over 81,
A.J. Warren still finished just one stroke off of Cornez and Maxedon, carding a 231 (+15) to finish fourth on the team and in a tie for 20th overall.
A.J. Hebert was disqualified in the third round, but shot a 10-over 154 through the first two rounds.
The Cal State East Bay individual players were also impressive in the tournament. Freshman
Elliot Busichio led the group of four Pioneers, carding a 12-over 228 for the tournament to tie for seventh overall, and posting a low score of 74 in the first round. Both
Justin Tambunting and
Greg Atkinson matched Warren with a three-round total of 231 (+15) to tie for 20th in the field of 70 competitors.
Blake Ahlin finished just outside the top half of the field, posting a 238 (+22) to finish in 40th overall.
Grand Canyon finished with a team total of 914 (+50) as the runner up, while Cal State Monterey Bay made a big comeback with a team total of 302 (+14) in the final round to move from a tie for fifth after the first two rounds to claim third in the team competition. The Otters finished 11 strokes back of East Bay, while Western Washington claimed fourth and Sonoma State took fifth.
Moore finished with the tournament low score with his first round 69 that helped him take second place. Third went to Western Washington's Nick Varelia, who carded a 70 (-2) in the first round and finished at 226, while Tyler Woolridge from GCU and Monterey Bay's Kolby Teare and Jered Stone all tied for fourth with a three-round total of 227.
The team victory is the first for the Pioneers this season and marked their only top-five finish of the 2011-12 campaign. East Bay has not claimed a team title in a tournament since the Pioneers returned to Division II competition during the 2009-10 season.
Cal State East Bay will look to continue to build momentum next week when it heads to the NDNU Invitational. The Pioneers will tee off the tournament on Mar. 12 at Poppy Ridge Golf Club in Livermore.
