by Gavin Hall, Santa Clara Athletics Media Relations Student Assistant
LIHU'E, Hawai'i - The birdies were numerous in the Aloha State as three Broncos had rounds in the 60s with Graduate students Julien Paltrinieri and Viraj Garewal especially displaying their talents over the two-day, three-round stretch at the John Burns Intercollegiate.
Paltrinieri (71-69-63--203) had it going early today as he wrapped up the last of his second round in the morning with a birdie and began his third and Final Round with two eagles out of the gate on the par-4 3rd and par-5 4th. His Final Round 9-under 63 included nine holes under par and only two bogeys as he finished in a tie for 6th at 13-under overall. The 63 is among the lowest in program history, and the lowest score by a Bronco since Matt McCarty carded a program-record 61 in the second round of the Alister MacKenzie Invitational on Oct. 8, 2018.
Garewal (67-72-72--211) had an incredible first round, which also included two eagles, and stayed consistent in Rounds 2 and 3 to finish in a tie for 26th at 5-under.
Alex Conley (71-76-73--220) hovered around par in each of the three rounds and contributed to Santa Clara's eagle count in the first round and finished in a tie for 93rd at 4-over. Nolan Forsman (74-76-73--223) was 3-under through 14 holes in his Final Round today but was once again haunted by the par-4 18th as he made a 7 but was still able to improve on earlier rounds to place in a tie for 106th at 7-over. Calder Overfelt (81-77-68--226) wasn't able to find much in the tournament until the Final Round in which he went 1-under through 16 holes then proceeded to eagle the par-5 2nd and birdie his final hole of the day, the par-5 4th, to shoot a 4-under 68, overall tying him for 111th at 10-over.
BYU (54-under 810) took home the team title much thanks to a Final Round 22-under 266 in which three Cougars had rounds of 6-under 66, putting them over 15 shots clear of Arizona who took second. Also in the field was reigning U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett of Texas A&M who shot a bogey-free 11-under 61 today finishing with an 18-under 198 and becoming co-champion with Cal's Sampson Zheng.
