Wednesday, May 3
Goleta, Calif.
All Day
California State University at Northridge
at
Big West Championship
Photo by: Eric Isaacs
Felix Mory Captures Big West Golf Championship, CSUN Takes Second
5/3/2017 2:16:00 PM | Men's Golf
NORTHRIDGE, CA - Junior Felix Mory captured CSUN men's golf's first-ever Big West Championship Wednesday as he claimed Individual Medalist honors at the 2017 conference championship at Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta, CA.
The Matadors finished second as a team, their best finish in 16 years as a member of the Big West. CSUN's three-round score of 853 was 20 strokes better than its previous best at any Big West Championship as the Matadors finished as runners-up to UC Santa Barbara (854) by a single stroke.
"We approached the final round knowing that we just had to remain consistent and play solid golf," said CSUN head coach Jim Bracken who coached his first individual conference champion since Anthony Marciano won the Big Sky Championship in 2000. "I said all year this team is a very talented group and if they improved throughout the season we would give ourselves a chance at conference."
The team championship came down to the final hole and after Mory parred the 18th hole but UCSB's Nick Swanson also scored par to give the Gauchos a team total of 852, which secured the team title by one stroke over CSUN.
Cal Poly finished third at 855 and was followed by Long Beach State (861) and UC Davis (868). UC Irvine secured the sixth spot with a score of 870 and Cal State Fullerton was one stroke back at 871. UC Riverside (885) placed eighth and Hawai'i (894) rounded out the nine-team field.
Mory led from start to finish as he won for the second time in his career at Sandpiper Golf Club. He also won the OGIO UCSB Intercollegiate on the same golf course in 2016. The CSUN junior opened the final round with a one-shot lead over Long Beach State's Joe Fryer.Â
After a bogey six on his opening hole, Mory gradually built his lead with four birdies over the next eight holes. He headed to the back nine at two-under and maintained that pace the remainder of the round to finish at two-under 70 for the day and 10-under 206 for the championship. Mory's 206 is the lowest ever by a CSUN player at the Big West Championship and was good for a four-stroke win.Â
Sophomore Tomas Skajem made a final day charge as well as he vaulted from 25th to eighth following a final day three-under 69. Skajem played virtually error-free golf Wednesday as he posted four birdies and 13 pars over the final round to notch a top 10 finish in his Big West Championship debut.
In his final collegiate tournament, senior Tavit Garabedian finished in a tie for 17th at one-over 217 following a final round one-over 73. Junior Trym Falch, also making his Big West Championship debut, finished tied for 23rd at three-over 219 following a final round even-par 72 and senior Sam Engel capped a four-year CSUN career by finishing tied for 30th at five-over 221 (72-73-76).
"Overall every guy played well and I'm hoping we built some momentum towards next year," added Bracken. "It was a great way to end the year."
BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
Goleta, CA
Sandpiper G.C.
May 1-3, 2017
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#GoMatadors
The Matadors finished second as a team, their best finish in 16 years as a member of the Big West. CSUN's three-round score of 853 was 20 strokes better than its previous best at any Big West Championship as the Matadors finished as runners-up to UC Santa Barbara (854) by a single stroke.
"We approached the final round knowing that we just had to remain consistent and play solid golf," said CSUN head coach Jim Bracken who coached his first individual conference champion since Anthony Marciano won the Big Sky Championship in 2000. "I said all year this team is a very talented group and if they improved throughout the season we would give ourselves a chance at conference."
The team championship came down to the final hole and after Mory parred the 18th hole but UCSB's Nick Swanson also scored par to give the Gauchos a team total of 852, which secured the team title by one stroke over CSUN.
Cal Poly finished third at 855 and was followed by Long Beach State (861) and UC Davis (868). UC Irvine secured the sixth spot with a score of 870 and Cal State Fullerton was one stroke back at 871. UC Riverside (885) placed eighth and Hawai'i (894) rounded out the nine-team field.
Mory led from start to finish as he won for the second time in his career at Sandpiper Golf Club. He also won the OGIO UCSB Intercollegiate on the same golf course in 2016. The CSUN junior opened the final round with a one-shot lead over Long Beach State's Joe Fryer.Â
After a bogey six on his opening hole, Mory gradually built his lead with four birdies over the next eight holes. He headed to the back nine at two-under and maintained that pace the remainder of the round to finish at two-under 70 for the day and 10-under 206 for the championship. Mory's 206 is the lowest ever by a CSUN player at the Big West Championship and was good for a four-stroke win.Â
Sophomore Tomas Skajem made a final day charge as well as he vaulted from 25th to eighth following a final day three-under 69. Skajem played virtually error-free golf Wednesday as he posted four birdies and 13 pars over the final round to notch a top 10 finish in his Big West Championship debut.
In his final collegiate tournament, senior Tavit Garabedian finished in a tie for 17th at one-over 217 following a final round one-over 73. Junior Trym Falch, also making his Big West Championship debut, finished tied for 23rd at three-over 219 following a final round even-par 72 and senior Sam Engel capped a four-year CSUN career by finishing tied for 30th at five-over 221 (72-73-76).
"Overall every guy played well and I'm hoping we built some momentum towards next year," added Bracken. "It was a great way to end the year."
BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
Goleta, CA
Sandpiper G.C.
May 1-3, 2017
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| 1 | UC Santa Barbara | 282 | 279 | 291 | 852 (-12) |
| 2 | CSUN | 284 | 285 | 284 | 853 (-11) |
| 3 | Cal Poly | 282 | 285 | 288 | 855 (-9) |
| 4 | Long Beach State | 282 | 287 | 292 | 861 (-3) |
| 5 | UC Davis | 292 | 291 | 285 | 868 (+4) |
| 6 | UC Irvine | 292 | 289 | 289 | 870 (+6) |
| 7 | Cal State Fullerton | 300 | 280 | 291 | 871 (+7) |
| 8 | UC Riverside | 288 | 300 | 297 | 885 (+21) |
| 9 | Hawaii | 301 | 292 | 301 | 894 (+30) |
| 1 | Felix Mory | CSUN | 68 | 68 | 70 | 206 (-10) |
| 2 | Joe Fryer | LBSU | 71 | 66 | 73 | 210 (-6) |
| 3 | Nick Swanson | UCSB | 69 | 69 | 73 | 211 (-5) |
| 4 | Zach Smith | UCSB | 71 | 69 | 72 | 212 (-4) |
| 5 | Ben Corfee | UCD | 70 | 72 | 71 | 213 (-3) |
| 5 | Grady Smith | CP | 73 | 69 | 71 | 213 (-3) |
| 7 | Jimmy Castles | CP | 69 | 73 | 72 | 214 (-2) |
| 8 | Nicolas Noya | UCD | 72 | 72 | 71 | 215 (-1) |
| 8 | Tomas Skajem | CSUN | 71 | 75 | 69 | 215 (-1) |
| 8 | Andres Gonzalez | LBSU | 71 | 71 | 73 | 215 (-1) |
| 1 | Felix Mory | 68 | 68 | 70 | 206 (-10) |
| T8 | Tomas Skajem | 71 | 75 | 69 | 215 (-1) |
| T17 | Tavit Garabedian | 74 | 70 | 73 | 217 (+1) |
| T23 | Trym Falch | 73 | 74 | 72 | 219 (+3) |
| T30 | Sam Engel | 72 | 73 | 76 | 221 (+5) |
#GoMatadors
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