LA QUINTA, Calif. –Entering the week as the favorites, Long Beach State finished the job on Tuesday, powering to team and individual titles in the 2023 Big West Men’s Golf Championship at La Quinta Country Club.
The day began with the completion of the second round after high winds and unplayable conditions warranted a suspension Monday afternoon. When the final five groups came into the clubhouse, the Beach held a three-stroke lead in the team standings with Cal State Fullerton and CSUN falling into second and third, respectively.
Matador Felix Schrott was one stroke up on the LBSU duo of Ian Gilligan and Isaac Rodea with the Cal State Fullerton pair of Harry Doig and Russell Howlett, UC Davis’ Mark Stephens and Ben Quick of Cal Poly all under-par heading into the final 18.
By the end of the round, the Beach was able to hold off the competition to claim their fourth Big West championship in program history, under the direction of first-year head coach Rob Murray. LBSU fired off a team total of 12-under 852, with Cal State Fullerton right behind at 854 and Cal Poly in third.
Individually, 54 holes wasn’t enough to determine The Big West’s automatic qualifier for the regional field, as a tri-champion was crowned. Starting the day in a tie for 11th Baron Szeto of Cal Poly hit the turn at 4-under for the round and added back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 to come in a 6-under 66, for the low round of the day. The sophomore from Moraga, Calif., vaulted up to a tie for the top with Cal State Fullerton’s Russell Howlett next to join the grouping a 5-under 211. Howlett was 4-under on the day, carding five birdies with a championship-capping 68.
Finally, playing in the last grouping on the course, Long Beach State’s Ian Gilligan recorded a 1-under 71 to secure a spot in the sudden-death playoff. Runner up from a season ago, the sophomore from Reno, Nev., came up clutch when playing the 412-yard par-4 18th hole for the second time of the day.
With all three men in solid position in the fairway, Gilligan chipped to a prime position on the green. After his competitors faltered, Gilligan sunk the 20-footer to win the playoff Gilligan is the first individual champion from Long Beach State since Brett Lederer in 2008 and the ninth Beach player to cap The Big West Championship as individual victor.
Cal Poly’s Szeto follows 2015 champion Justin De Los Santos, while Russell Howlett became the first Cal State Fullerton individual winner since Matt Wilson in 2019.
Senior duo of Long Beach State’s Isaac Rodea and Felix Schrott of CSUN round out the All-Tournament Team after finishing in a tie for fourth place for the second-consecutive season.
The Beach now look toward the NCAA Regional field, as selections will be announced tomorrow, May 3 at 10 a.m. on the Golf Channel.
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Team Leaderboard
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Place
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Team
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Score
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1.
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Long Beach State
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281-290-281–852 (-12)
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2.
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Cal State Fullerton
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281-293-280–854 (-10)
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3.
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Cal Poly
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290-290-278–858 (-6)
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4.
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CSUN
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281-297-284–862 (-2)
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5.
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UC Irvine
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291-301-287–879 (+15)
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6.
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Hawai’i
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293-299-293–885 (+21)
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7.
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UC Davis
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296-296-298–890 (+26)
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8.
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UC Santa Barbara
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298-299-303–900 (+36)
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9.
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UC Riverside
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306-307-294–907 (+43)
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Individual Top 10
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Place
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Player (School)
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Score
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t-1.
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Ian Gilligan (Long Beach State)
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69-71-71–211 (-5)
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Baron Szeto (Cal Poly)
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72-73-66–211 (-5)
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Russell Howlett (Cal State Fullerton)
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70-73-68–211 (-5)
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t-4.
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Isaac Rodea (Long Beach State)
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69-71-72–212 (-4)
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Felix Schrott (CSUN)
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66-73-73–212 (-4)
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6.
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Jackson Parrish (Cal Poly)
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74-71-68–213 (-3)
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7.
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Harry Doig (Cal State Fullerton
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67-74-73–214 (-2)
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t-8.
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Garrett Boe (Cal State Fullerton)
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73-71-71–215 (-1)
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Ben Quick (Cal Poly)
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70-73-72–215 (-1)
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Mark Stephens (UC Davis)
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77-64-74–215 (-1)
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- top 5 men earn All-Tournament Team honors