Oct. 13, 2015
Final Results
FAIRFAX, Calif. -- Senior Cody Blick won the 2015 Alister MacKenzie Invitational in dramatic fashion by making a birdie on the 18th hole to edge out Pepperdine's Frederick Wedel and Arizona State's Jon Rahm, by one stroke.
"It was one of the greatest displays I've seen in a long time," said Spartans head coach John Kennaday about Blick's back nine where the senior shot it in five-under capped off by the birdie on the par-4, 363-yard 18th hole.
Going into the 18th, Blick and Wedel were tied at 16-under and a stroke ahead of Rahm, the world's second ranked amateur according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
"Off the 18th tee, Jon Rahm hit a driver, a four or five iron for Frederick Wedel, and Cody hit a hybrid," said Kennaday.
"The next shot for Wedel, from about 160 yards out, was a great one over the tree as it was a spectacular shot under the circumstance, as he knocked it to about 8 feet of the hole. Cody hit a wedge right over the flag, took a big bounce, and was 25 feet behind the hole, above the flag. Rahm hit it to 12 feet on a chip from the rough."
"Cody went first, it was a little slider as when he made it, the place went nuts," described the excited Spartans coach of Blick's birdie putt to put him at 17-under.
"Rahm made his putt to get to 16-under and Wedel came up a little low on his putt," said Kennaday of Wedel's birdie putt clinching the victory for Blick, his fifth career victory at San José State.
The Danville, Calif. native's 17-under 196 score is the second lowest 54-hole total for a Spartan in relation to par since at least 1993-1994. Blick now owns the two lowest 54-hole total along with last season's 18-under 198 that he shot at the Price's Give 'Em Five Invitational.
Going into the 12th hole, Blick was three shots behind clubhouse leader Kyle Mueller of Michigan, who teed off 50 minutes earlier. The Spartan senior then ripped off four consecutive birdies for the second day in a row to go up by one on Mueller and Wedel.
On the 16th, Wedel made a birdie to tie Blick atop the leader board at 16-under, setting up the climatic finish on the 18th.
"It was just an awesome back nine, just an incredible back nine," gushed Kennaday.
San José State got a big boost from freshman Kevin Velo who shot an 8-under 205 in his debut to finish tied for 14th.
"Kevin had outstanding tournament. I could not be more proud of how he played, as he showed maturity and a lot of growth this week," said Kennaday.
With Blick and Velo leading the charge, the Spartans squad shot 27-under 825, good for a sixth place finish. It was the Spartans' best finish at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational since finishing second during 2006-2007 season.
The 27-under 825 team score on the par-71,6,734-yard Meadow Club course is the lowest 54-hole total for the Spartans breaking the record set at the BSU Dash Thomas Memorial Invitational during the 2011-2012 season when the team shot 25-under 827.
Sophomore Matthew Ashley's 71 (E) on Tuesday helped him climb up two spots to a 38th place tie. He shot 75-66-71-212 (-1) for the tournament.
Sophomore Matthew Murray shot 69-69-75-213 (E) and senior Taylor Bromley shot 74-75-75-224 (+11) for the tournament.
Each starter had a scoring round in the tournament as Kennaday also wanted to give credit to his assistant coach, Matt Hovan.
"I want to give a big shout out to assistant coach Hovan as he helped guide Velo and Blick in a big way. Coach Hovan just did a great job out there on the golf course."
Tournament host, Cal, maintained their second round lead by capturing the team title shooting 42-under (268-270-272-810) as all five players finished in the top 20 to win the Alister MacKenzie Invitational for the seventh consecutive season.
The Spartans play next at the Price's Give 'Em Five Invitational, October 23 to 25 in El Paso, Texas.
2015 Alister MacKenzie Invitational Meadow Club, Fairfax, Calif. Par 71, 6,734-yards October 13, 2015 | ||||
TEAM STANDINGS | ||||
POS | SCHOOL | TO PAR | RD1-RD2-TOTAL | |
1. | California | -42 | 268-270-272-810 | |
T2. | Pepperdine | -33 | 267-278-274-819 | |
T2. | Arizona State | -33 | 277-269-273-819 | |
4. | San Diego State | -31 | 277-270-274-821 | |
5. | Michigan | -28 | 272-277-275-824 | |
6. | San José State | -27 | 272-272-281-825 | |
7. | Fresno State | -17 | 274-279-282-835 | |
8. | San Francisco | -15 | 273-276-288-837 | |
9. | Minnesota | -8 | 277-277-290-844 | |
10. | Colorado | -7 | 277-295-273-845 | |
11. | Brigham Young | -5 | 290-278-279-847 | |
12. | Nevada | -4 | 276-282-290-848 | |
13. | Oregon State | -3 | 274-283-292-849 | |
14. | UC Davis | +3 | 280-288-287-855 | |
15 | San Diego | +9 | 290-291-280-861 | |
16. | Hawai'i | +20 | 293-284-295-872 | |
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS | ||||
POS | PLAYER, SCHOOL | TO PAR | RD1-RD2-TOTAL | |
1. | Cody Blick, San José State | -17 | 64-65-67-196 | |
T2. | Jon Rahm, Arizona State | -16 | 68-63-66-197 | |
T2. | Frederick Wedel. Pepperdine | -16 | 64-67-66-197 | |
4. | Kyle Mueller, Michigan | -15 | 69-64-65-198 | |
5. | Ryann Ree, San Diego State | -14 | 66-65-68-199 | |
SAN JOSÉ STATE RESULTS | ||||
POS | PLAYER | TO PAR | RD1-RD2-TOTAL | |
1. | -17 | 64-65-67-196 | ||
T14. | -8 | 65-72-68-205 | ||
T38. | -1 | 75-66-71-212 | ||
T41. | E | 69-69-75-213 | ||
T73. | +11 | 74-75-75-224 | ||