SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The Santa Clara men's golf team will play its second tournament of the fall season competing in the 10-team Nick Watney Invitational beginning Monday at the 6,950 yard, par 72 Sunnyside Country Club in Fresno, Calif.
Teams and individuals will play a total of 54 holes with 36 played on Monday and the final 18 on Tuesday. Along with tournament host Fresno State and Santa Clara, the field includes Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Grand Canyon, Pacific, Sacramento State, UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
The Broncos opened their season with a fifth-place showing at the 16-team Saint Mary's Invitational on Sept. 16 by shooting an 878 (+14) and are looking for consecutive top-5 finishes in events featuring 10 or more teams for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
Freshman Hayden Shieh led the Broncos at the Saint Mary's Invitational carding a 1-under 215 for a 9th place tie in his first collegiate tournament. "He's very comfortable at this and it doesn't come as a surprise to him or me that he finished in the top-10," head coach Rob Miller said of his first-year player after the Saint Mary's Invite.
Junior Carlos Briones totaled 37 pars and posted his sixth career top-20 finish by placing in a tie for 17th with a 3-over 219 at the Saint Mary's Invite.
Joining Shieh and Briones in the Broncos lineup for the Nick Watney Invitational will be last season's WCC Freshman of the Year Tyler Kertson, Gio Gandionco and Michael Hultquist. Drew Miller will play in his first tournament of the season competing as an individual.
The Broncos will be grouped with players from Cal Poly and Sacramento State for Monday's first round and will tee off with a shotgun start from the 6th through 9th holes beginning at 8:30 a.m. (PT). Live stats for the Nick Watney Invitational will be available at www.golfstat.com and complete results and a day one recap will be posted on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Name: Nick Watney Invitational
Dates (Site): Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 29-30 (Fresno, Calif.)
Host: Fresno State University
Field (10 teams): Cal State Bakersfield, Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Pacific, Sacramento State, Santa Clara, UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
Details: The event will span two days and feature 54 holes of stroke play. A shotgun start format will be used for rounds one and two, both held on Monday. All players will be regrouped before Tuesday's final round, based on scores, and tee of every 10 minutes from holes #1 and #10. For the purposes of tournament honors and awards, ties will be split per NCAA Championship tie breaking procedures.
Courses: Sunnyside Country Club
Yardage-Par: 6,950 yards-Par 72
Course Website: www.sunnyside-cc.com
Course Number: (559) 251-6011
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com
