Cougars Finish Fifth at Oregon State Invitational

CORVALLIS, Ore. (Oct. 12, 2021) – Washington State sophomore Jaden Cantafio finished his three rounds at 1-over 214 to lead the Cougars to a season-best fifth-place finish at the 2021 Oregon State Invitational, played at the par 71, 7,384-yard Trysting Tree Golf Club Tuesday.
 
The Cougars entered the final round in fifth and never moved Tuesday as they finished the three-day event at 17-over par, 869, after a third-round score of +7, 291. Washington captured the title at 14-under, followed by Boise State (-3), Utah (+3), host Oregon State (+11) and WSU.
 
The fifth-place finish is the highest for a Cougar squad since finishing second at The Joust in Riverside, Calif, Feb. 22-23, 2020.
 
"I feel we got back on track this week after a disappointing event last time out at Notre Dame" said WSU Head Coach Dustin White. "To come back and play like this on a short turnaround was encouraging. We held a lead early in the tournament which was exciting, but we need to continue to get better, get smarter and get tougher. All-in-all, it was another positive step in the right direction."
 
Individually, Cantafio posted the first top 15 finish of his career as he finished tied for 13th after rounds of 69-70-75. Entering the final round at 3-under par, the sophomore struggled to find birdies Tuesday, registering only one after collecting eight in his first 36 holes. His 13th-place finish was three spots higher than his previous best, which also occurred at The Joust last season.
 
Redshirt senior Max Sekulic had the best round of the day for the Cougars, finishing his 18 holes at 2-under, 69. Starting on hole six, Sekulic was even after four before ripping off four birdies over the next five holes. He scattered two bogies over the final nine holes and finished the three-round event in a tie for 30th, at 6-over, 219.
 
Junior Pono Yanagi finished his tournament at 5-over, 218, after shooting a 4-over 75 in Tuesday's final round. After recording nine birdies in his first two rounds, Yanagi could not get below par at any point during the round and finished in a tie for 24th.
 
Sophomore Preston Bebich finished Tuesday at 3-over, 74, giving him a three-round score of 7-over, 220, and a tie for 33rd. Throughout the week, Bebich took advantage of the par 5's, finishing 5-under with a stroke average of 4.55 on those holes. Redshirt sophomore Tianyu Wu finished his day with a three-round score of 228 (+15) after a final round 76. Wu finished in a tie for 60th.
 
Freshman Peter Jung, playing as an individual, finished his tournament with a 3-over 74, giving him a two-day score of 8-over, 221, and alone in 36th place. Jung did tie for the tournament lead on par 3 scoring, finishing even-par on those holes
 
The Cougars are next in action Oct. 21-23 at the Visit Stockton Invitational in Stockton, Calif.
 
For more information on the Washington State men's golf team, follow @WSUCougarMGolf on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.