Kaito Onishi Ties For Ninth To Lead USC Men's Golf In NIT Finale
Senior Kaito Onishi finished a season-best tied for ninth at 10-under 206 – one stroke off his career best – to lead USC in the final round of the N.I.T. at the Omni Tucson (Ariz.) National on Sunday (March 21).
USC finished ninth at a combined 3-under 861 (287-284-290). Oklahoma State won at 47-under 817 while Oklahoma was four back in second.
The Trojans got off to a fast start in their front nine today, but struggled down the stretch, going 12-over over the final three holes.
"That was an incredibly disappointing finish," USC Coach J.T. Higgins said. "We just fell apart coming down the stretch. Thank goodness for Kaito this week or it would have been really ugly. He played terrific all week, the best we've seen this year and he's trending in a good direction."
Onishi posted his team-best fourth top 20 finish and first inside the top 10 this year with rounds of 70, 68 and 68. His 4-under today saw four birdies over his first eight holes, another on 10 and an eagle on 15.
Freshman Shane Ffrench tied for 61st at 2-over 218 (76-71-71). He was 10-under through 12 today before a pair of bogeys down the stretch. He has six rounds under par this year.
Sophomore Tyler Guo tied for 68th at 4-over 220 (73-73-74), his Sunday including three birdies. Junior Cameron Henry, playing individually, tied for 74th at 5-over 221 (72-76-73). Senior Leon D'Souza (73-72-77) and freshman Krando Nishiba (71-74-77) tied for 79th.
USC has a short break and returns to action at The Goodwin, Thursday through Saturday, at Stanford.