Men’s Golf Set For Fall’s Final Tournament
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State men’s golf team will conclude its four-tournament fall season Monday and Tuesday at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Sonoma, Calif.
The Beavers have two third-place finishes (Kikkor Husky Invitational and Mark Simpson Invitational) and a seventh-place finish (Erin Hills Intercollegiate) so far this fall and look to end their season with another strong placing.
FIELD (16): Oregon State, Arizona State, BYU, California, Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Minnesota, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Diego State, San Francisco, San Jose State, Santa Clara and UC Davis.
COURSE: The tournament will be held at the par-72, 7,103-yard Sonoma Golf Club.
BEAVERS’ LINEUP: Oregon State will go with a lineup of senior David Fink, juniors Alex Franklin and Scott Kim and freshmen Kevin Murphy and Kevin Chen. Fink, Franklin and Murphy have all played in the previous three fall tournaments, while Kim competed at the Kikkor Husky Invitational and Mark Simpson Invitational and Chen saw his only action of the fall at the Husky Invite.
FORMAT: Two-day, 54-hole tournament with 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday. The top-four individuals from each five-member team with the lowest scores for each 18-hole round constitute the scoring members for that given round.
TEE TIMES: There will be a shotgun start at 8:15 a.m. on Monday, and tee times off beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday off the first and 10th tees.
QUOTING HEAD COACH JON REEHOORN:
What are your thoughts thus far about your fall season?
“We got off to a really good start at the Husky Invitational and since then have played some pretty average golf. We haven’t done anything special and nothing terrible to this point in the year, but this team is good. We are much better than we have shown; we just need to elevate our play each and every time we compete. It’s not a matter of making more birdies; it is a matter of playing a bit smarter and not trying to force the issue.”
What could you accomplish at the Alister MacKenzie that would make the fall season a success?
“This event is only the fourth of 12 events we will play this year. How we play this weekend won’t define our season. The goal is to get back to where we were in Seattle and more about just playing golf and not worried about the result or who we are ahead of or behind in the standings.”
What are your thoughts about the individual play of your team?
“To this point in the year the play we have received from Fink, Franklin, and Murphy is probably the most consistent 1-3 play we have received since the team made it to the national championship four years ago. The three of them are going to provide this team with a lot of good results this year, but if we are going to compete with the top teams in our conference we need more consistent solid performances from our four and five guys.”
LAST TIME OUT: Oregon State finished seventh at the 14-team, three-day Erin Hills Intercollegiate in Erin, Wis., with a 14-over 289-295-294--878 at the par-72, 7,234-yard Erin Hills Golf Course.
Fink was Oregon State’s top player on the individual leaderboard, finishing in a tie for 13th place with a 1-over 72-70-75--217. After opening the tournament with a pair of even-par 72’s, Franklin shot a 2-over 74 in the final round but still posted a top-20 finish with a tie for 19th with a 2-over 72-72-74--218.
Murphy finished the tournament in a tie for 25th place overall with a 4-over 73-74-73--220, while sophomore Brian Jung moved up eight spots on the final day and into sole 41st with a 9-over 72-80-73--225. Freshman Conner Kumpula, who was making his Oregon State debut, had his best round on the final day to finish in a tie for 52nd with a 13-over 76-79-74--229.
LAST YEAR AT THE ALISTER MACKENZIE INVITATIONAL: Oregon State finished in a tie for sixth place at last year’s Alister MacKenzie Invitational with a 1-under 285-277-289--851 at the par-71, 6,759-yard Meadow Golf Club.
Jung shot the Beavers’ best round on the final day, a 1-under 70 that included an eagle and three birdies, to finish his third collegiate tournament in a tie for 26th with a 1-over 71-73-70--214. Nick Sherwood and Tyler Carlson shot identical 2-over 73’s in the final round to finish the tournament in a tie for 19th place with a 1-under 212. Nick Chianello finished in a tie for 41st with a 3-over 71-72-73--216 and Fink wrapped up the tournament with a 9-over 74-70-78--222 for a tie for 61st place.
Host California ran away with the team title, shooting a ridiculous 46-under 806, to finish ahead of San Francisco (26-under 826), Colorado State (13-under 839), BYU (8-under 844) and San Diego State (2-under 850).
The Beavers won the Alister MacKenzie Invitational back in 2004 with a 4-under 848.