LA QUINTA, Calif. - Championship three-peats are sweeter when they are in come-from-behind record-breaking fashion. Just ask Long Beach State men's golf.
Heading into the final round of action, the Beach was down by three strokes to Day 2 leader and eventual runners-up Cal State Fullerton, but the team made up the gap to win by five, taking both the team and individual titles.
Scorching the course with a three-day tally of 22-under 842, LBSU set The Big West team scoring record while surpassing the Titans for the five-stroke win as the Beach claimed a third consecutive Big West Championship.
The previous benchmark was an 18-under 846 on the books from over two decades ago when UNLV won the title in 1994 in an event hosted by Pacific. With the victory, Long Beach State earns The Big West’s automatic bid into the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships regional field. The Beach will learn their destination on Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m. on the Golf Channel as the selected teams and individuals are revealed
LBSU thrives at events held at The La Quinta Country Club, claiming four titles in the last five years the Championship has been held at the course.
Winning wire-to-wire was Long Beach State’s Krishnav Nikhil Chopraa. After remarkable rounds of 63 and 66, the sophomore closed with a 1-under 71 to close at 16-under 200. The record-tying performance included two bogey-free rounds with 13 birdies, two eagles and an albatross through 54 holes of action. Chopraa joins LBSU alumnus Ryan Panichpakdee who set the record in 2006 at Tijeris Creek Golf Club.
Chopraa’s teammate Charlie Forster leapt up 26 spots on the leaderboard with a 9-under 63 of his own to take fourth and earn All-Tournament Team honors, helping the team surge to the lead.
Cal State Fullerton was remarkably consistent with a trio tied at 5-under 211 to earn All-Tournament honors in fifth place. Matthew Schafer finished at 2-under 214 to tie for 13th, but the Long Beach charge was too intense to fend off after finishing with an even-par 288 in the third round to close at 17-under 847. The Titans’ final total was one shot off the previous record.
The freshman pairing of Dylan Ma of UC Santa Barbara and Zack Tarter of UC Davis used final rounds of 66 to climb into the top five, to pace their teams, finishing second and third, respectively. The Aggies bumped up a slot on the team leaderboard to finish tied for third with UC Irvine at 8-under 856. Also finishing in the red as a team was Idaho, whose three-day tally of 2-under 862 was paced by Josh McCartian's eighth-place finish.
All told, scores were low in the desert this week with 19 individuals representing 10 programs and five teams at even par or better.
| Team Leaderboard (FINAL) |
| Place |
Team |
Score |
| 1. |
Long Beach State [BW record] |
281-281-280–842 (-22) |
| 2. |
Cal State Fullerton |
279-280-288–847 (-17) |
| T-3. |
UC Davis |
290-285-281–856 (-8) |
|
UC Irvine |
290-285-281–856 (-8) |
| 5. |
Idaho |
285-288-289–862 (-2) |
| 6. |
UC Santa Barbara |
297-282-287–866 (+2) |
| T-7. |
UC San Diego |
295-285-289–869 (+5) |
|
CSUN |
295-293-281–869 (+5) |
| >T-9. |
Hawai’i |
295-289-287–871 (+7) |
|
Sacramento State |
294-290-287–871 (+7) |
| 10. |
Cal Poly |
296-290-287–873 (+9) |
| 12. |
UC Riverside |
304-299-284–887 (+23) |
| Top 10 Individuals (FINAL RESULTS) |
| Place |
Player (School) |
Score |
| 1. |
Krishnav Nikhil Chopraa (Long Beach State) [ties BW record] |
63-66-71–200 (-16) |
| 2. |
Dylan Ma (UC Santa Barbara) |
73-68-66–207 (-9) |
| 3. |
Zack Tarter (UC Davis) |
70-72-66–208 (-8) |
| 4. |
Charlie Forster (Long Beach State) |
74-73-63–210 (-6) |
| T-5. |
Will Tanaka (Cal State Fullerton) |
72-69-70–211 (-5) |
|
Giacomo Comerio (Cal State Fullerton) |
71-71-69–211 (-5) |
|
Tegan Andrews (Cal State Fullerton) |
68-69-74–211 (-5) |
| T-8. |
Josh McCartain (Idaho) |
70-69-73–212 (-4) |
|
Liam Judkins (CSUN) |
74-71-67–212 (-4) |
|
Rei Harashima (UC Irvine) |
72-68-72–212 (-4) |
*top five finishers and ties are All-Tournament Team members