Big West Conference Championship
Rounds of 70 by Castles, Engelhardt lift Cal Poly to 6th in Big West Finals
5/1/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
FINAL RESULTS (pdf)
CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. – Jimmy Castles and Nick Engelhardt carded two-under-par 70s to lift the Cal Poly men's golf team to a sixth-place finish in the 2018 Big West Conference Championship on Tuesday.
Thomas Lehman added a 72 and finished with Castles in a tie for 15th place with one-over-par 217 totals on the 6,989-yard, par-72 "Ike" Eisenhower Course at the Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms. Engelhardt climbed seven spots into 19th place with a 218 aggregate.
Cal Poly's four-person one-under-par 287 total in the final round was its best of the three-day tournament, finishing with a 12-over-par 876 aggregate and a jump from seventh into sixth place.
UC Irvine edged UC Davis by one stroke, 852-853, for the Big West team title. The Anteaters entered the final round tied for first place with Cal State Fullerton, but the Titans carded a 297 total Tuesday, 14 shots behind UC Irvine, and settled for fourth place.
Led by individual co-champion Brandon Bauman, UC Santa Barbara was third with an 860 aggregate.
Bauman and Ryan Han of UC Davis both finished with eight-under-par 208 totals – Bauman with a final-round 69 and Han with a 68 – Han defeating Bauman in a two-hole playoff for the automatic bid to the NCAA regionals.
David Kim of UC Irvine and Martin Manalo of Cal State Fullerton shared third place with five-under-par 211 totals, Kim carding a final-round 69 and Manalo, tied with Bauman for the lead after 36 holes, a 72.
En route to his 70, Castles recorded three birdies, three bogeys and eagled the 579-yard, par-5 18th hole. Engelhardt (pictured above) carded his second eagle of the tournament, this time the 506-yard, par-5 first hole, and also notched six birdies, two bogeys and a pair of double-bogeys.
Lehman checked in with five birdies, five bogeys and eight pars.
Also scoring for Cal Poly were Tanner Podres with a final-round 76 for a 227 total and 39th place, and Mitch Martin with a 75. Martin was disqualified Sunday.
Engelhardt shared top honors with UC Santa Barbara's Brett Bennett in eagles with two. Castles had one eagle and his 12 birdies were seventh in the field of 45 golfers. Lehman's 34 pars were ninth.
Engelhardt was sixth in par-4 scoring at even par while Castles shared the top spot with Bennett in par-5 scoring at nine under par.
UC Irvine and Han qualify for one of six NCAA regionals, scheduled for May 13-16. Sites are the Brookside Golf and Country Club in Stockton, Calif., Reunion Resort in Reunion, Fla., Lonnie Poole Golf Course at North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C., OSU Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio, Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla., and Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas.
The 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship will be held May 25-30 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
