The Santa Clara men's golf team is off to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico where they will host the inaugural Cabo del Sol Intercollegiate starting Sunday. Eleven teams will participate in the three-day tournament.
In addition to Santa Clara, the field will consist of Bowling Green, Cal State Northridge, Loyola Marymount, San Francisco, Seattle University, South Dakota State, Texas State, Towson, UC Irvine and Weber State.
Teams and individuals will play single 18-hole rounds on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The first and third rounds will be played on Cabo del Sol's Ocean Course, which has been ranked among the Top 100 courses in the world by GOLF Magazine each year since opening in 1994. The middle round will be played on the resort's Desert Course.
The Broncos last competed in tournament play Sept. 23-24 when they tied for eighth in the 19-team Saint Mary's Invitational in their own backyard in Seaside, about 50 miles from campus. Now as tournament hosts they will have to travel nearly 1,500 miles to Cabo San Lucas. "Since we're hosting so far away there's not really a home court advantage," said head coach Rob Miller. "We prepare like any other tournament. It's really not any different for the guys than any other event that we play in."
A slight difference from the team's two previous 54-hole tournaments is that this one will be played over three days instead of two. "It's just easier on the guys in terms of not being such a grind on that 36-hole day," Miller noted. "They are more focused on each 18-hole round."
And Miller likes how the players have looked in preparation for this event, especially senior Bobby Monaco. "I think Bobby is playing really good right now. He actually didn't qualify for the last event and maybe that really motivated him," Miller said. "The last couple weeks in qualifying he's really looked good, he's scoring well and he's really focused. I think this could be one of his better events in a long time. He looks good."
Along with Monaco, Coach Miller will have Gio Gandionco, Scott Lowe, Evan McLeod and Drew Miller as part of the Broncos' five-man team. "Gio has improved and he's getting better and Scott is our most consistent player so he could definitely play well," Miller said.
Freshman Tyler Kertson will play the tournament as an individual.
"This is a tournament that we think we can win," Miller added. "There are only 11 teams and we have as good a chance as anybody to win. This is the type of event we go into saying 'let's win it.'"
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Name: Cabo del Sol Intercollegiate
Dates (Site): Sunday-Tuesday, Oct. 6-8 (Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)
Host: Santa Clara
Field * (11 teams): Santa Clara (122), Bowling Green (189), Cal State Northridge (182), Loyola Marymount (101), San Francisco (67), Seattle University (205), South Dakota State (229), Texas State (136), Towson (128), UC Irvine (114) and Weber State (237).
Details: 18 holes played each day with first and third rounds played on the Ocean Course and second round on the Desert Course. First and second rounds tee off at 6:10 a.m. (PDT) with the final round shotgun start teeing off at 6:30 a.m. (PDT).
Courses: Cabo del Sol Ocean Course / Cabo del Sol Desert Course
Yardage-Par: 7,091 yards-Par 72 / 7,049 yards-Par 72
Course Website: www.cabodelsol.com
Course Number: (866) 231-4677 toll free in the US
Results: GolfStat.com following the completion of each round
*Rankings from Golfweek.com (10/4/13)
