LA QUINTA, Calif. – Nine teams are set to converge at La Quinta Country Club for three days and 54 holes of action from the desert for the 2023 Big West Men’s Golf Championships April 30-May 2.
The 7,056-yard track is not your typical desert course, rather a tighter well-bunkered course with mature trees. With pristine fairways and manicured greens, La Quinta Country Club enjoys a rich history of over 60 years. The Club is home to the American Express, formally known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic on the PGA Tour.
Last year at La Quinta, UC Davis rolled to its fourth team title in wire-to-wire fashion with current Aggie assistant Thomas Hutchison claiming individual medalist honors after carding a 13-under 203 to tie for the third-best three-day total score in a Big West Championship. UCD’s current No. 1 golfer Lucas Carper claimed the individual title at La Quinta in 2021. Mark Stephens and Jacob Westberg also return from the Aggies’ championship campaign, with Stephens earning All-Tournament Team distinction in 2022.
All told, all nine teams have at least two repeat performers in their lineup with 26 men back in the field from the 2022 Championship.
Highlighting the men vying for the individual title is sophomore Ian Gilligan, competing for No. 1 seed Long Beach State. Gilligan was runner-up and Big West Freshman of the Year a season ago. The 2022-23 campaign that thus far been punctuated by six top 5s finishes in nine tries and three events where Gilligan landed on the top line of the individual leaderboard. The Reno, Nev., native enters The Big West Championship ranked 16th in the national Golfstat Division I player listings, averaging an impressive 68.85 strokes per round.
The Beach also return All-Tournament Team selection Isaac Rodea and Steven Deutsch for 2022’s runner-up squad, now under the direction of first-year head coach Rob Murray. LBSU will compete with No. 2 seed Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis in Sunday’s first round, set to go off at 10 a.m. PT.
Along with the Aggies and Beach, Cal State Fullerton also sees three men returning to the field at La Quinta in uppperclassmen trio Harry Doig, Garret Boe and Trevor McNary.
The grouping of CSUN, UC Irvine and Hawai’i swing away beginning at 10:50 a.m. PT, with the Matadors seeing the most seasoned Championship with four men in the lineup playing the Championship for at least the second time. Under the direction of Jim Bracken, the longest tenured head coach in the league, CSUN brings four seniors and a sophomore to the event. Big West Golfer of the Month Eirik Thomassen holds the No. 1 spot for CSUN, and will be coupled with returning All-Tournament Team player Darien Zhao of UC Irvine and Hawai’i sophomore Atsuya Oishi.
Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Riverside round out the field with an 11:40 a.m. PT start in Sunday’s opening 18. Joey Zambri (CP), John Bush, (UCSB) and Josh Hu (UCR) lead their respective teams. The Gauchos also see a new head coach as Chris Massoletti took the helm for his first season in Santa Barbara.
Monday’s pairings will be set by first round scores, again beginning at 10 a.m. PT with the leaders off the tee first, with Tuesday’s championship round set for 8 a.m. PT, with a split tee start.
The Big West champion earns an automatic berth in the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, and the individual medalist also earns a place in the regional field if not a member of the winning team, nor on a team chosen for an at-large selection.
Spectators are encouraged and welcome, and the event is free and open to the public.