UC Irvine monopolized the Big West Golfer of the Month awards for October as senior Jay Choe (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) earned the men's honor while junior Selaneé Henderson (Apple Valley, CA/Granite Hills HS) was the women's representative.
Choe posted a pair of top five finishes and added a top 10 showing to his list of stelllar performances in October. He opened up with an eighth place finish at the Northwest Collegiate Classic (Oct. 2-3) in Corvallis, Ore., shooting a three-round total of 217 with a low score of 69 in the second round. Choe then tied for fifth in a field of 78 golfers at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 9-10) in Fairfax, Calif. He carded a four-under 209 (70-70-69) to help the Anteaters tie for fifth among 15 teams at the event.
He put forth another solid showing to close out the month, tying for second place in The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. He posted a total of 210, including firing a second round 67. Choe helped UCI to its best team finish of the three tournaments for the month, as the team came in third out of 15 schools.
Choe's average was 70.67 for nine tournament rounds for the month. He is 25-0 against players from other Big West teams.
Henderson helped the Anteater women to a pair of third place finishes as she ended up in the top 10 in two tournaments. She finished fourth out of 111 competitors at the Lady Aztec Fall Classic (Oct. 16-17) with a two-round total of 144, including a first round 69. It was the second time she shot a 69 this year, the low round by any UCI player. Henderson also tallied nine birdies to lead all players at the San Diego tournament.
Henderson led the Anteaters once again at the Kent Youel Invitational (Oct. 24-25) in Kapolei, O'ahu as she posted her third straight top 10 finish in the fall, carding a 226 (75-74-77) for seventh place. UCI finished third out of 16 teams. Henderson was the Big West's top golfer at both the Lady Aztec and Kent Youel Invitationals.
The Anteaters tied for 11th place out of 17 teams at the Las Vegas Founders Collegiate Showdown (Oct. 30-Nov. 1) to conclude the month's tournament action. Henderson posted a score of 224 (71-77-76) to come in 40th place. The tournament featured seven of the nation's top 25 teams.