FINAL RESULTS (PDF)
LAHAINA, Hawaii — In their final round of the fall slate, the Gonzaga University men's golf team had a 13-stroke improvement from their previous round, and placed eighth at the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic Sunday.
The Zags carded a 292 total in the third round at the Ka'anapali Golf Course. They finished with 305 strokes Saturday, after a program low round record of 274 Friday. The Bulldogs slid from sixth to eighth on the final day. They were in fifth after their first round total.
"The wind was challenging again today but it was still possible to post a good score," Gonzaga Head Coach Robert Gray said. "Our scores were alright but we didn't have a score under par to make a big impact on the team score.
"While we're disappointed that we fell two positions in the standings, we're very excited about how we competed in tough conditions against some highly-ranked programs. To finish 14 shots back of the 27th ranked team and no worse than eighth place all season, is a big step forward for the program."
James Fahy led the Zags with a 21st place finish. The Vancouver, B.C. native was two-over-par in Round 3 and two-over-par in the tournament. He had three birdies on the final day. Sean Walsh also fired a 73 (+2) Sunday. The junior made a trio of birdies to finish 27th at five-over-par.
"James finished as our low man for the week while not hitting the ball well," Gray said. "He continues to get the most of what the game gives him each day. Sean hit the ball great but didn't get the putts to fall. He could've posted some very low rounds this week with how well he struck the ball."
Will Brueckner had the Bulldogs' best third round with a 71 (E). He hit par on 16 holes, bogeying only one hole and hitting a birdie on the eighth hole. The freshman climbed 12 spots on the leaderboard and finished 36th at seven-over-par.
"Will played pretty well most of the week," Gray said. "His shoulder really bothered him today making it hard to make a full swing. He played through it and posted the low round of the team."
David Ganz tied for 39th place. His final round 75 was four-over-par. He was eight-over in the classic. Brendan Connolly finished 11-over-par in 47th place. The senior shot 78 (+7) Sunday.
"Brendan played pretty well all week other than a stretch towards the end of his round today," Gray said. "It's great to see him finding the consistency he's been working towards. David struggled the last two days but fought hard throughout the rounds. He was +6 thru 12 holes today and played his final six holes -2 on that tough stretch of holes."
Oregon cruised to the team title at 33-under-par. The Ducks were 24 strokes ahead over second place North Florida. Oregon, which entered the tournament ranked second in the country, shot a 274 (-10) in Round 3.
The Ducks' Aaron Wise beat out MJ Maguire of North Florida on the first playoff hole to take the individual crown. Wise made eight birdies Sunday, while Maguire made seven with an eagle. Both were 10-under-par in the tournament.
"We finished on a tough stretch of holes the last two days," Gray said. "Today we played them fairly well but yesterday we struggled with those holes, playing them 11-over-par. While the holes were tough, we have to learn to make pars on those holes. That's what we need to do to reach our goals. We got help from all of the team members and posted our lowest single round score in program history. We definitely have some things to be excited about going into the off-season."
Gonzaga returns to its schedule on Feb. 16. The Bulldogs travel to La Quinta, Calif., for The Prestige at PGA West. The three-day tournament takes place on the Norman Course at The Club at PGA West.
"We have our strongest event of the season to start our spring schedule," Gray said. "We have a lot of positives to take from the fall season and we know what we need to improve to be ready for that event. We're definitely a much better team from top-to-bottom this year."
