Kingsmen Maintain Seventh Spot

VISTA, Calif. – On a cold day in Southern California, the Cal Lutheran men’s golf team completed the third round of the Cal State University, San Marcos Invitational, placing seventh, while finishing as the top Division III team in the competition.

The Kingsmen combined for a 925 (+61), shooting a weekend low 303 today. Yesterday the first and second rounds produced identical scores of 311. CLU went stroke-for-stroke with Point Loma Nazarene.

While the weather was not ideal, the results were consistent for Cal Lutheran.

“It was cold down there and the greens were really fast,” head coach Jeff Lindgren shared after the conclusion of the tournament. “It was hard for our kids to adjust, but they remained focused and were consistent throughout.

After day one, two rounds, of play Mikey McGinn sat in 18^th place. Today he moved up three spots to finish tied for 15^th with a combined 225. The junior shot a 74, equaling his round two total, after opening with a 77. McGinn completed the tournament nine over par and was the top Division III golfer at the event.

“This was Mikey’s first time playing this course,” Lindgren noted, “And he played it consistently and steadily, which is a good indicator for the rest of the spring.”

Second home for the Kingsmen was sophomore Barret McGinnis with a 228. He shot a team-low 73 today. One day one he used 76 strokes during the opening round and followed with a 79 in the afternoon. Overall he finished tied for 25^th in a field of 85.

The third and fourth scores from today were from senior Chad Kimmelshue and sophomore Bobby Griffin as the each shot a 78. Kimmelshue had his best round to open the weekend (76) and finished with 237 total swings over two days. Griffin matched his round two score and finished one stroke back of Kimmelshue with a total of 238.

Rounding out the golfers for CLU was senior Parker Colvin. Though he shot a team-high 242, he improved in every round, concluding the weekend with a 79.

The individual champion of the event was Jake Knapp (208) from UCLA with teammate Matt Pinizzotto claiming second (215). They were the only two players to shoot under par, going eight and one under, respectively. Both played as individuals as the Bruins did not field a full squad for the event. 

Oklahoma City University, a member of the NAIA, was crowned tournament champions with a three-day total of 885 (+21). Host CSU San Marcos was second with an 891 (+27) as the only other team to break the 900-stroke mark.

During the tournament, CLU topped Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (941), Occidental (969) and Whittier (974).

“This was a good start for our men’s team,” Lindgren said. “It was good motivation for the next couple of weeks before we have our first SCIAC match.”

Cal Lutheran opens Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Empire Lakes Golf Course. With Whittier as the host, all eight SCIAC teams will tee off at 8:00 a.m. to start the two-day event.

Results: 7^th - CLU 295 (+61)  
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