WAIMEA, Hawaii – At Mauna Lani Golf Course on Tuesday, the final round of the 2023 HPU Sharks Shootout took place. Cal State East Bay men's golf finished in third place among 18 teams.
 
Melker Backstrom and Easton Hether each finished in a 12^th place tie on the leaderboard at 1-under-par 215. Hether shot 1-under-par 71 in Tuesday's final round and finished with 12 birdies on 54 holes played.
 
With an even par 216 finish was Cooper Groshart, placing 17^th on the leaderboard, also with 12 birdies in total throughout the tournament.  
 
"Another solid result for the men's team," said Cal State East Bay men's and women's golf coach Chris Oetinger. "Considering most of the lineup had no previous experience on this type of grass, Tifdwarf Bermuda, or playing in this type of climate, we are happy with the finish. We are also pleased with the consistency the team has shown. Three guys finishing in the top-20 just shows the depth of our lineup. With all that said if we are going to make the jump and get a tournament win, we will need to clean up our par 5 scoring and get off to a better start in round one. I'm excited to see how they play at [Hapuna Golf Course] for the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate."
 
"It's always fun watching the guys out on the course," added Cal State East Bay assistant men's and women's golf coach Arrianna Custodio. "They know how to bring good energy and stay grounded out there."
 
UT-Permian Basin won the team competition in the HPU Sharks Shootout. From Cal State Dominguez Hills, Francis Bautista and Colin Huang from Sonoma State each finished tied atop the leaderboard at 9-under-par 207.
 
The Pioneers do not have to go very far for their next tournament. They will compete in the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate this coming Friday and Saturday at Hapuna Golf Course in Waimea, Hawaii. Tee time is set for 7:30 a.m. HST (10:30 a.m. Pacific) for a shotgun start each day of the tournament.