PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Santa Clara men's golf closed the fall season by shooting its best round of the Saint Mary's Invitational with a final-round 291 to claim a 14th-place finish with a tournament total 888.
The Broncos rallied slightly after a brutal first round 303 put them at the bottom of the pack, improving their scores over the next two days. They scored a 294 on Tuesday ahead of their final-round score.
"We played the front nine well today. The back nine wasn't pretty," head coach Rob Miller said. "It wasn't the greatest, finishing 14th is nothing to shout about. We'll put this behind us, move on, and get ready for the spring."
After withdrawing from the first round with a back injury, junior Matt McCarty was able to play the final 36 holes and contribute a final-round 2-under 69. "Matt played through his injury and had a great finish to help the team," Miller said.
Freshman Nordin van Tilburg was the Broncos top individual finisher grabbing a share of 36th at 4-over 217. Konrad Brauckmeyer carded his best score of the tournament with a final-round 1-over 72, moving up 18 spots on the leaderboard to tie for 63rd with a 225 total.
Senior Derek Ackerman and sophomore Berk Harvey each bettered their second-round score on Wednesday. Ackerman scored 77 to finish with a 229 total while Harvey carded a 76 to complete 54 holes at 232.
Competing as an individual, Ryan Johnson had rounds of 79-78-81 for a 238 total.
USC overcame a 14-shot second-round deficit to take the team title while BYU's Peter Kuest was the individual medalist with a 13-under 200.
"It just wasn't our week," Miller added. "A lot of weird stuff happened, the stars weren't aligned."
The Broncos open the spring portion of the season on February 11 when they are scheduled to compete in the UC Irvine Invitational at the Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach.
Santa Clara Final Individual Results
| T36. | Nordin van Tilburg | 74-69-74 = 217 (+4) |
| T63. | Konrad Brauckmeyer | 77-76-72 = 225 (+12) |
| T83. | Derek Ackerman | 74-78-77 = 229 (+16) |
| T89. | Berk Harvey | 78-78-76 = 232 (+19) |
| 101. | Ryan Johnson (I) | 79-78-81 = 238 (+25) |
| -- | Matt McCarty | WD-71-69 |
(I) – competed as an individual
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