April 8, 2018
Santa Cruz, Calif.----- Kevin Velo posted a two-under 68 in round two and Sean Yu had an even-par 70 on the final day as San Jose State University finished in 11th place out of 15 teams as the host of the 72nd annual Western Intercollegiate.
The Spartans moved up one spot each round in a field with 10 top-50 nationally-ranked teams over 54 holes on the 6,615-yard, par 70 Pasatiempo Golf Course. San Jose State had a three-round total of 1,080.
#20-North Carolina finished first with 1,036. #9-Cal was second at 1,046. #21-Southern California and #50-San Diego State tied for third at 1,052.
Velo was the top Spartan finisher among the six players representing San Jose State in the team scoring format with his three-over par 213 for a 31st place tie. Yu tied for 41st at 215.
Matt Murray and Sean Talmadge each posted a final round 71 for a 217 total and tied for 50th place. Ben Campbell, whose 71 in the second round was his best, tied for 62nd at 220. Vijay Srinivasan shot a 225.
The top Spartan overall was Bryce Wortman, one of four San Jose State players to play individually, with his one-over par 211. Matt Ashley tied Srinivasan for 78th place at 225. Playing in his first tournament of the season, Nate Jetter tied for 90th at 231. Charles Thompson was 95th at 242.
Oregon's Norman Xiong won a three-hole playoff over Cal's Collin Morikawa and Arizona's George Cunningham for medalist honors. The three players tied at 10-under par 200 after 54 holes. Cunningham was eliminated on the first playoff with a bogey compared to pars by Xiong and Morikawa.
After Xiong and Morikawa both parred the second playoff hole, Morikawa missed his birdie putt attempt from 20-feet and Xiong had a tap-in birdie for the win.
"The golf that was played by everybody was really good.
San Jose State is next in action at the Mountain West Championships, April 20-22, in Bremerton, Wash.
"I don't think anybody on our team is terribly happy with our finish. However, it is nice to be beating the teams that beat us in the fall," said San Jose State head coach John Kennaday. "We need to play better. We need to make the changes needed to win conference."
72nd annual Western Intercollegiate men's golf tournament
Pasatiempo Golf Course, Santa Cruz, Calif.
6,615 yards, par 70
| Final 54-hole team scores | |
| 1. North Carolina | 1036 |
| 2. California | 1046 |
| 3. San Diego State | 1052 |
| Southern California | 1052 |
| 5. Texas | 1054 |
| 6. Stanford | 1058 |
| Oregon | 1058 |
| 8. Colorado State | 1065 |
| 9. Arizona | 1066 |
| 10. Pepperdine | 1067 |
| 11. San Jose State | 1080 |
| 12. Washington | 1082 |
| 13. UTEP | 1098 |
| 14. UC Irvine | 1101 |
| 15. Hawai'i | 1128 |
| Leading Individuals | |
| 1. Norman Xiong, Oregon (won a playoff) | 68-65-67-200 |
| 2. Collin Morikawa, Cal | 69-67-64-200 |
| George Cunningham, Arizona | 66-66-68-200 |
| 4. Justin Suh, Southern California | 67-68-67-202 |
| 5. Ben Griffin, North Carolina | 66-67-70-203 |
| San Jose State scores | |
| 31. Kevin Velo | 73-68-72-213 |
| 41. Sean Yu | 72-73-70-215 |
| 50. Matthew Murray | 75-71-71-217 |
| 50. Sean Talmadge | 70-76-71-217 |
| 62. Ben Campbell | 75-71-74-220 |
| 78. Vijay Srinivasan | 77-74-74-225 |
| 24. Bryce Wortman (ind.) | 68-72-71-211 |
| 78. Matthew Ashley (ind.) | 71-74-80-225 |
| 90. Nate Jetter (ind.) | 80-77-74-231 |
| 95. Charles Thompson (ind.) | 81-80-81-242 |