Fresno, Calif.----- Make it two third-place finishes in San Jose State University's first two men's golf tournaments of the season. A superb final-round 15-under par 269 team score gave the Spartans an 829 team total at the Nick Watney Invitational at the Fort Washington Country Club course.
San Jose State finished at 23-under par for 54 holes on the par 71, 6,729-yard course. Brigham Young University took home the team title with an 822 total. Long Beach State edged the Spartans for second place with an 827 in the 15-team field.
"I was very proud of the boys across the board this week. They played a good game," said San Jose State head coach John Kennaday.
"Two bogey-free rounds out of four helps," the Spartans' coach said about the final round referring to junior Bryce Wortman and sophomore Parker Sisk.
All four San Jose State counting team scores were under par in the final round. Wortman and Sisk parlayed their bogey-free final rounds into top-15 finishes in the 92-player field. Wortman posted a five-under par 66 for a 204 total and his first top-five finish at the major college level tying for fifth place.
Sisk wrapped up his best 54 holes as a Spartan with three rounds of golf in the 60's. After a pair of 69's for the first two rounds, Sisk made three birdies and 15 pars for his 68 and was one of two San Jose State players with an 11th-place 206 total.
Amazingly, senior Sean Yu, who did not seem affected by any jet lag from playing in the 72-hole Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in Shanghai, China less than 24 hours before the Watney Invitational began, ripped off seven birdies against one bogey for a 65 in his final round for a 206 total.
Nate Jetter also saved the best for last firing a one-under 70 to finish at three-over 216 and in a tie for 41st place. Freshman Caleb Shetler tied for 81st place at 223.
San Jose State's Carl Corpus and Matt Heitel played as individual entries. Corpus tied for 21st place at 210, making it two-for-two the freshman from the Philippines has been under par for 54 holes. Heitel tied for 69th at 221.
"We're growing and we're learning which is exciting," Kennaday said about the team's early-season performances. "We have a lot of good young men – a dedicated, committed group of young men."
The Spartans are back in action Monday, October 7 & 8, at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational at the Meadow Club in Corte Madera, Calif.
San Jose State University men's golf
Nick Watney Invitational
Fort Washington Country Club, Fresno, Calif.
Par 71, 6,729 yards
| Final 54-hole results | |
| Team scores | |
| 1. Brigham Young | 822 |
| 2. Long Beach State | 827 |
| 3. San Jose State | 829 |
| 4. U. of San Diego | 833 |
| Fresno State | 833 |
| 6. UC Santa Barbara | 846 |
| 7. CSUN | 850 |
| 8. Seattle U. | 853 |
| 9. Pacific | 855 |
| 10. Sacramento State | 856 |
| 11. Gonzaga | 861 |
| 12. UC Irvine | 865 |
| 13. Cal Poly | 868 |
| 14. Cal Baptist | 873 |
| 15. UC Riverside | 912 |
| Leading individuals | |
| 1. Hunter Epson, Long Beach State | 68-64-68-200* |
| 2. Peter Kuest, BYU | 68-64-68-200 |
| 3. Rhett Rasmussen, BYU | 73-66-62-201 |
| 4. Nathan Cogswell, Seattle U. | 72-68-63-203 |
| 5. Bryce Wortman, San Jose State | 68-70-66-204 |
| Joey Vrzich, Pepperdine | 71-68-65-204 |
| Joshua McCarthy, Pepperdine | 69-69-66-204 |
| Harrison Kingsley, San Diego | 69-68-67-204 |
| * - won a two-hole playoff | |
| More San Jose State scores | |
| 11. Sean Yu | 71-70-65-206 |
| 11. Parker Sisk | 69-69-68-206 |
| 41. Nate Jetter | 75-71-70-216 |
| 81. Caleb Shetler | 72-75-76-223 |
| 21. Carl Corpus (ind.) | 68-68-74-210 |
| 69. Matt Heitel (ind.) | 80-69-72-221 |
| (ind.) – played as an individual entry |