By Austin Turner – Staff Writer
Thanks to a terrific five-under par third round from senior Kevin Velo, the San Jose State men’s golf team slipped past Arizona State by one stroke to finish third in the Alister Mackenzie Invitational on Tuesday.
Velo and junior teammate Sean Yu led the Spartans with a three-round score of seven-under par, good for a tie at 10th overall.
As a team, SJSU shot a combined 826 over three-rounds and finished 26-under par.
Pepperdine were the winners of the team-event at 52-under par, and Cal finished second at 41-under par.
The individual winner, Pepperdine’s freshman RJ Manke, was dominant in the third round. He shot a 10-under score of 61, which was easily the best single-round of the tournament and gave him a four-stroke cushion over the second-place finisher, Cal junior Collin Morikawa.
The third-place finish was SJSU’s best on the young season thus far. It placed fourth in both of tournaments of the season prior to the Alister Mackenzie Invitational.
The Spartans’ finish is a cause for optimism for the team’s chances in conference this season.
They were the top Mountain West team in the invite, which also included San Diego State, which finished 8th, and Fresno State, which placed 13th. Both programs finished above SJSU in last season’s MWC Championships.
SJSU will look to build upon its solid start when its season continues at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational starting on October 25.
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