Washington Embraces Big West Conference Early In Season
Five of the nine Big West Conference men's golf teams begin the 2010 fall season with a short trek to the Evergreen State. Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge have the honors of kicking off the new year for the league as they prepare for the Palouse Cougar Collegiate in Pullman, Wash., Sept. 14-15. The Palouse Ridge Country Club will host the multi-day event. The following week Big West members UC Davis and Pacific visit Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash., for the Kikkor Golf Husky Invitational Sept. 20-21. Along with host Washington and the aforementioned Big West schools, the field includes Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Texas A&M, Missouri, Idaho, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Pepperdine, Fresno State and BYU.
Midwest Witnesses Big West Talent First Hand
While a majority of the men's programs are competing in a pair of tournaments in Washington, four schools are making a visit to the midwest in September. UC Irvine is set to compete in the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the Spirit Hollow Golf Club in Burlington, Iowa, Sept. 19-21 and the Highlanders of UC Riverside head to the Colbert Hills Golf Club in Manhattan, Kan., Sept. 27-28 for the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate. Long Beach State and UC Davis represent the conference at the Windon Memorial Classic in Glenview, Ill., on Sept. 26-27. This marks the second tournament of the season for the Aggies after playing in the Kikkor Golf Husky Invitational the week before. The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara do not embark on the fall season until October.
UC Davis Women Prepare For Busy September
Defending Big West women's golf champion UC Davis isn't shying away from competition early on as it has three tournaments lined up in September. The Aggies rack up some frequent flyer miles for their first event, The Topy Cup, which takes place at the Tanagura Country Club in Tanagura, Japan. UC Davis is joined by Pac-10's Arizona as the two women's teams representing the United States in the three-day event. Following the international showdown, the Aggies return to the U.S. to compete in the Branch Law/Dick McGuire Invite in Albuquerque, N.M. (Sept. 18-19) and the Golfweek Challenge in Vail, Colo. (Sept. 26-28). Big West foe UC Irvine is also scheduled to compete in the Branch Law/Dick McGuire Invite.
Revisiting the 2009 Big West Championships
After a one-year hiatus, UC Irvine reclaimed the Big West men's golf title with an impressive victory at Mission Viejo Country Club. UCI, which has now won three championships in the past four seasons, finished 9-above-par for the Championship after shooting 297 in Tuesday's third round. Pacific was second at 26-over-par, while Long Beach State rounded out the top three with a three-round score of 895. UC Santa Barbara finished the tournament in fourth, while Cal State Northridge came in fifth. UC Davis was sixth and was followed by UC Riverside, Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton.
There was a first-time winner of the Big West Women's Golf Championship as UC Davis completed its wire-to-wire run at the San Luis Obispo Country Club for its first title in program history. UCD had four golfers finish in the top five on its way to a 900 (298-299-303) to win the title at 36-over-par, 19 strokes better than defending champion Long Beach State. Finishing up in third was UC Irvine (925), while tournament host Cal Poly wrapped up the top four (948). Fifth place went to Cal State Northridge at 959, UC Riverside (970) secured the sixth spot and Cal State Fullerton (995) completed the 2010 Womens Championship field.
Looking Ahead
The Big West Golf Championship tournaments will be split once againin 2011. The women's golf championship returns to Tijeras Creek Golf Club from Sunday, April 17 through Tuesday, April 19. On the men's side, the conference championship takes place at Mission Viejo Country Club for the second consecutive year during the first week in May. The championship runs from Monday, May 2 through Tuesday, May 3. Nine Big West schools will challenge for the title.