Photo by SJSU Athletics
By Thomas Christian (@ThomasGoatNBA) — Reporter
San Jose State men’s golf headed to the Eugene Country Club to take part in Oregon University’s Duck Invitational this Monday and Tuesday. A competitive field with the likes of Utah, Arizona State and Washington awaited the Spartans as they touched down for the two-day competition.
While not the start it wanted, SJSU remained competitive through the first day of play. Tied for sixth place with Oregon State, the Spartans survived a grueling 36-hole day in which they left with a total score of 585.
Consistent all-around golfing helped keep the Spartans on track in the first 18, with Caleb Shetler leading the team with a score of 68. Shetler’s first round was good for third overall in the tournament.
Unfortunately for Shetler, the second 18 holes proved much more difficult, losing nine strokes on his score to submit a paltry 77. Instead, it was Carl Corpus leading the day with a steady score of 70 to keep SJSU’s place in the standings.
“We played our first 36-hole day of the season,” said coach John Kennaday. “I think the golf course won. But we’ll be getting after it bright and early tomorrow.”
Heading into Day Two, the Spartans needed a major boost if they wanted to make any major noise in the tournament standings. Instead, the team stalled and submitted a mediocre score of just 297 as a team, their worst score in a single round in the tournament.
Zubair Firdaus led the day with a 71, but Shetler and Corpus faltered, scoring 78 and 73, respectively. With that, the team fell to seventh in the tournament behind Boise State, a solid showing considering there were multiple ranked opponents in the field ahead of them.
Finishing in the top half of a 14-team tournament should be considered a great achievement for a team that has otherwise been unable to prove that they can truly contend with collegiate golf’s other powerhouses.
The Spartans will now get a one-day break before heading out to Stanford for The Goodwin tournament taking place from March 24-26.