LIVERMORE, Calif. – After finishing 36 holes of action in the NNU Poppy Ridge Invitational, Cal State East Bay men's golfer Ryan Hong was in a first place tie on the leaderboard at 1-under-par 143. A one hole playoff between Hong and Edvin Backstrom of Holy Names would decide the individual winner. On Hole #10, Hong birdied and was the medalist in the tournament at Poppy Ridge Golf Course.
 
In the team competition, the Pioneers placed second among 12 teams three strokes behind HNU. Since Hong was entered into the tournament as an individual, his score did not affect the team scoring for the Pioneers.
 
Three Pioneers finished tied for fifth on the leaderboard at 4-over-par 148, including Easton Hether, Fraser Owenson and Quentyn Kowata.
 
Additional highlights for CSUEB included:

• An eagle from Ananjan Kaushik (competing as an individual)
• Seven birdies in non-playoff holes by Hong.
• 24 even par holes by Xavier Coreno, Hong, Kowata and Owenson.

"Despite finishing second, we did not play near our best golf," said Cal State East Bay head coach Alan Sue. "We didn't adjust our speed well to these greens. When we play our best, we can compete with any team in our region. I'm very excited for Ryan."
 
Next Monday and Tuesday, the Cal State East Bay hosts the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout, which takes place at Corica Park in Alameda. Last season in the same tournament, Kaushik was tied atop the individual leaderboard through 54 regulation holes played.