UC Davis Remains in Top 25: The UC Davis women's golf club remained among the top 25 teams in the country as the Aggies are slotted in the 25 position in the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings. UCD had only one tournament in February thanks to a cancellation, but UCD finished 5th in a difficult 11-team group at the Peg Barnard Invitational hosted by Stanford. The Aggies got a chance to play on the Stanford Golf Course, site of the NCAA West Regional May 6-8.
Difficult March Ahead: The Big West golf programs have a tough March ahead with tournaments filled with some of the West Coast’s best contingents. Among the regional powers is Oregon, the #17 team in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, as the Ducks welcome several Big West men’s teams in the field for the Oregon Duck Invitational. UC Davis, Pacific and Riverside will make the trek to the Pacific Northwest for that battle. Meanwhile Long Beach State wins the award for the longest road swing as the 49ers head to Bulls Bay, S.C., for the Hootie at Bulls Bay. Cal Poly will also host a tournament this month as the Cal Poly Lamkin Championship is up on the schedule March 24-25.
In the women's side of things, the Anteater Invitational will see several Big West squads in competition March 29-30. UC Irvine will host the competition at Dove Canyon Country Club in Trabuco Canyon, one of UCI’s home courses. Fellow Big West schools Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State and UC Riverside will join what will be a competitive field in the event.
Individual Standouts: The month of March has already seen some solid showings by the Big West on both sides. John Chin of UC Irvine won his second collegiate tournament at the Anteater Invitational and added his fourth top 10 finish of the year at the Callaway Invitational. Chin, who is ranked 69th in the country by Golfweek, is one of two Big West players in the top 100. UC Davis’ Austin Graham is 88th on the list.
UC Davis' women’s team also owns two top 100 players as Alice Kim (59) and Demi Runas (76) are on the list. The league also can claim a third ranked player in Joy Trotter is 73rd. Not surprisingly, the trio own the top three scoring averages in the Big West. All of the player rankings are through competitions as of the 27th of February.
Lyons Reaches Quarters of San Francisco Tourney: Cal State Fullerton redshirt junior David Lyons advanced to the final field of eight before being eliminated last weekend from the City of San Francisco Municipal Golf Tournament at Harding Park. On Saturday, No. 48-seeded Lyons defeated No. 33 seed Jonathan Garrick, 3 and 2. Lyons had a round with no bogies and won the tourney on the 16th hole.
But on Sunday, Lyons lost, 3 and 2, to ninth-seeded Patrick Grimes, who is the highest remaining seed in the final field of four.
The tournament dates to 1917. It is the nation’s oldest municipal golf tournament and the world’s most consecutively played event. The British Open, the U.S. Open, The Masters, etc., all took time off during war years. Not “The City.” Past champions include Ken Venturi and George Archer and other contestants include Johnny Miller, Bob Rosburg and Tom Watson.
Goydos Named Assistant Team Captain for 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup: Former Long Beach State men’s golfer Paul Goydos was named as one of four assistant team captains for the 2010 United States Ryder Cup Team. Goydos will be joined by Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman and former captain Tom Lehman. The announcement was made by U.S. Team Captain Corey Pavin on February 4 at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
Goydos was a four-year letterwinner at LBSU (1981-85) under former long-time head coach Del Walker. In 1985, Goydos captured the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate at the former Serfas Country Club in Corona and was first team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Association as he finished in fifth place at the PCAA championship.
Big West Championships: This year's Big West Golf Championship will be broken up into two separate events with the men’s and women’s championship being played on different weekends and courses. The 2010 Big West Women’s Golf Championship is slated for April 18-20 at the San Luis Obispo Country Club. Each day will feature one 18-hole round. The 2010 Big West Men’s Golf Championship at the Mission Viejo Country Club is schedule for May 3-4 with two rounds played on Monday, followed by a single round contested on Tuesday.