Senior Travis Bertoni carded his second straight 69 Saturday to finish with a three-under-par 213 total and a tie for 38th place, highlighting Cal Poly’s performance on the final day of competition in the 2006 NCAA West Regional men’s golf championship at the Omni Tucson National Golf Club.
The Mustangs, competing in the regional for the second straight year, produced three top-50 finishers and settled for a 19th-place team finish with a two-over-par 866 total, notching a one-over-par 289 total in Saturday’s final round of the 54-hole tournament.
Bertoni shot a 75 in the opening round Thursday, tied for 102nd place, but rallied with back-to-back 69s to finish in the top 40. On Saturday, the Paso Robles High School graduate had five birdies and a pair of bogeys.
As a junior, Bertoni finished tied for 31st in the regionals at the Stanford Golf Course. He was 71st in the 2004 NCAA West Regional at Sunriver, Ore., and 16th as a freshman in the 2003 regional at Auburn, Wash.
Bertoni concludes his collegiate career with 11 victories, No. 4 on the NCAA list. Phil Mickelson of Arizona State notched 16 career wins for the record.
Mustang sophomore David Lewinski also finished tied for 38th place Saturday, carding a final-round 73 on the 7,200-yard, par-72 course for his 213 total. Lewinski shot a 68 Thursday and was tied for sixth place before carding a 72 Friday. He had two birdies and three bogeys in the final round,
Finishing in a tie for 46th place was sophomore J.J. Scurich. His 74 on Saturday included four birdies, two bogets and a pair of double-bogeys. Scurich posted a 73 Thursday and 67 Friday.
Kevin O’Brien, another sophomore, carded a 73 Saturday and finished alone in 124th place with a 12-over-par 228 total. He had an up-and-down final round with seven birdies, six bogeys and a double-bogey. O’Brien shot a 74 Thursday and 81 Friday.
Colin Peck, the fourth Mustang sophomore in the regionals, struggled to an 85 Saturday, finishing with a 25-over-par 241 total for 141st place. Peck carded 77 and 79 on the first two days of the tournament.
Co-medalists were Billy Horschel of Florida and Casey Watabu of Nevada with 13-under-par 203 totals. Watabu shot 64 Saturday while Horschel finished with a 66. Dustin Pimm of Utah, the leader after the first and second rounds, recorded a 72 Saturday and finished tied for fifth place with a 10-under-par 206 total.
Arizona and Florida shared the team championship with 37-under-par 827 totals, 13 strokes ahead of both Arizona State and Washington.
Cal Poly was 17 over par on the final hole at the Tucson National Golf Club, a 469-yard par-4 hole.
The Mustangs finished 22nd place in the 2005 NCAA West Regional at Stanford.
Top 10 teams and top two individuals qualify for the 2006 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, scheduled for May 31 through June 3 at the Crosswater Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.