RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. – Sophomore Matt McCarty shot a final-round 1-under 71 and scored all three rounds under par to win his first collegiate tournament, besting a pair of golfers by one-shot at The Farms Invitational. As a team the 25th-ranked Broncos took runner-up honors for the second time this year, tying No. 21 UCLA for second-place with an 872 total.
The Broncos lost out on their third team title of the year when San Francisco made a late charge to finish one shot better.
"Their last two guys came in and made eagle and birdie. Those two strokes decided it," head coach Rob Miller said of the tournament's ending. "They (USF) deserved it. It was a really good finish by them."
McCarty finished the event at 4-under 212 following earlier rounds of 70 and 71. He held off Hidetoshi Yoshihara of UCLA and UC Riverside's Brandon Tsujimoto, who both finished at 213. It was Santa Clara's second individual title of the year with McCarty joining Hayden Shieh, who won The Jackrabbit in the first event of the fall season. McCarty is the first Bronco other than Shieh to win a tournament since the 2010-11 season.
"It's awesome," McCarty said of his victory. "I don't think it's set in yet. I've never won anything of this magnitude." His best finish prior to this event was a third-place showing at the Cougar Classic last season.
"I hit the ball well every day and gave myself good looks," McCarty noted. "I putted well and didn't miss easy shots."
MGOLF VIDEO | Hear sophomore Matt McCarty of @SCUgolf discuss his first collegiate win at The Farms Invitational and talk about how much it helps to have his teammates backing him up with good rounds. #StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/Nh2myhIXZB
— Santa Clara Broncos (@SCUBroncos) February 16, 2018
Two other Broncos placed in the top-10 with Derek Ackerman tied for seventh at 1-over 217. Competing as an individual, Michiel Eyre III finished at 2-over 218 to tie for ninth. Shieh matched McCarty for low round of the day at 71 and placed in a tie for 12th with a 3-over 219 total.
"The guys played pretty good today," Miller noted. "It was a nice little bounce back, especially after what happened yesterday. And we're getting contributions from different players, which is good."
The Broncos are in action next starting Feb. 25 for the two-day Arizona NIT.
Santa Clara Final Individual Results
| 1. | Matt McCarty | 70-71-71 = 212 (-4) |
| T7. | Derek Ackerman | 72-73-72 = 217 (+1) |
| T9. | Michiel Eyre III (I) | 69-74-75 = 218 (+2) |
| T12. | Hayden Shieh | 69-79-71 = 219 (+3) |
| T30. | Will DelBiaggio | 74-78-74 = 226 (+10) |
| T33. | Berk Harvey (I) | 77-76-74 = 227 (+11) |
| T42. | Zack Kaneshiro | 75-77-79 = 231 (+15) |
| 70. | Jack Avrit (I) | 78-84-84 = 246 (+30) |
(I) Competed as an individual
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