STOCKTON, Calif. – The Washington State University men's golf team finished its fall season strong, clinching the team title at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational. The Cougars finished the final round at the Stockton Golf and Country Club 7-under par (277), bringing their three-round score to 841 (-11). The finish marks the first win for WSU this season.
As a team, the Cougars were 7-under after just six holes on the par-71 course, carding nine birdies. The Cougars' third-round performance went unmatched in the 11-team field, as Denver finished six strokes back in second place.
“We were awesome today – just awesome,” Cougar Head Coach Garrett Clegg said. “We came out and got off to a fantastic start and took the lead. I think the other teams were just deflated because of how we started. We dominated the day. We finished great and got out in front and made it our tournament.”
WSU freshman Derek Bayley led the Cougars, finishing third in the tournament. The finish is the best of Bayley's young career. Bayley carded a third-round 67 (-4), tying his lowest single-round performance of the season. Bayley finished 5-under in the tournament (208). Senior Charlie Mroz and freshman Brian Mogg tied for the second-best WSU finish in the tournament. Competing in just his second event for the Cougar team, Mogg finished 2-under (211) and tied for seventh. The finish is Mogg's first career top-10 finish. Propelled by a first round 66 (-5), Mroz finished tied for seventh with Mogg. Mroz has notched three top-25 performances in five tournaments this fall.
Senior Michael Anderson carded the second-best score of the day for the Cougars. Anderson finished 3-under (68) in the round and tied for 28th in the tournament. Redshirt-senior Sang Lee matched Anderson's performance, carding a three-round 217 (+4) to tie for 28th.
“We've shown we can hit shots and step up when we need to. Going in to the offseason, everyone is feeling good about themselves. It'll be nice to get some time off, but everyone is excited to get back and get going.”
The Cougars now enter their winter break and will return to action next spring. WSU is scheduled to begin the spring season at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, Feb. 18-20, 2015, in Lihue, Hawaii.
