Men’s golf standout Geoff Gonzalez made history this weekend.
Gonzalez finished tied for fourth in the NCAA Colorado Regional at the Colorado National Golf Club on Saturday — becoming Cal Poly’s first NCAA Division I National Championship qualifier.
He almost aced his last tee shot, landing the ball within a half-inch of the cup and sinking the putt for his fourth consecutive birdie and a final-round of 66.
“I’m real proud of myself and our program,” Gonzalez said in a release. “This is a great day for Cal Poly golf.”
Gonzalez, who parred the par-72 course on Thursday and Friday, began the final round in 26th place and had an up-and-down day Saturday with four bogeys and 10 birdies.
Starting on the back nine, Gonzalez bogeyed three of the last five holes and made the turn at one under par. He also bogeyed the No. 5 hole on the front nine, his 14th hole of the day, and was at two under par with four holes to play.
“After I bogeyed the fifth and walked up to the sixth tee, Coach said I just might as well birdie the last four,” Gonzalez said. “So we decided to go for broke, and I did.”
Gonzalez hit one within three feet of the cup on the sixth hole and made the putt for a birdie.
On the seventh hole, Gonzalez’s second shot landed pin high on the fringe. He chipped to within four feet and made another birdie.
On the eighth hole, Gonzalez hit a wedge shot to within three feet of the cup en route to his third straight birdie.
On the ninth and final hole of the round, Gonzalez struck a ball into the wind and it stopped a half-inch from the hole. He completed his six-under-par 66 with his fourth consecutive birdie, his 10th birdie on the day and a berth to the national championships.
“Today, I was kind of up and down,” Gonzalez said. “A couple bogeys slowed me down, but I had a great finish.”
Gonzalez has earned All-Big West Conference first-team honors three times. The Mustang golfer from Monte Vista High School, Danville, Calif., won three tournaments in his four-year Mustang career and competed in his third NCAA regional this week.
Gonzalez averaged 72.8 strokes per round as a senior during the regular season, with five top-10 finishes and 12 rounds of par or better, including four rounds in the 60s. He won the Folino Invitational hosted by Cal State Fullerton in Irvine on March 22 for his third career collegiate title.
Gonzalez now has 19 career rounds in the 60s and 53 rounds of par or better thus far, finishing in the top 10 a total of 17 times. Gonzalez’s career average of 72.59 strokes per round is second to Mustang career record-holder Travis Bertoni (71.700).