The Cal Poly men’s golf team overcame a two-stroke deficit against Fresno State and finished fourth at the Nick Watney Invitational in Fresno on Tuesday. Senior Justin De Los Santos finished second in the invitational with a four-under-par 209 after two days of action.
De Los Santos shot a 69 and 70 on Monday to finish three strokes under and tied for first. Tuesday morning, he shot final round 70 to finish one stroke behind winner Perry Cohen of Saint Mary’s. As a team, the Mustangs shot an eight-over-par 860 to finish fourth behind Brigham Young, Nevada and Saint Mary’s.
Senior Cole Nygren was the next best finisher behind De Los Santos. After he finished 29th on Monday, Nygren recovered well and shot a tournament-best 68 on Tuesday to tie for 13th overall.
Junior Grady Smith finished Monday tied for 16th with rounds of 73 and 72, contributing to the team’s aggregate score of 576. Unfortunately, Smith didn’t perform as well on Tuesday, shooting a 76 and dropping to 31st.
As a team, the Mustangs finished highest among all Big West competitors, edging out UC Irvine by one stroke. Cal Poly will continue its season on Oct. 17 at the two-day Bill Cullum Invitational in Simi Valley, California. Like the Nick Watney Invitational, the tournament starts at 8 a.m. Monday morning and continues through Tuesday.