Sept. 16, 2015 Final Results (pdf) 
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Sean Walsh became the first Gonzaga men's golfer to win an individual tournament title in eight years Wednesday. The senior took medalist honors at the Saint Mary's Invitational.
Brandon Crick was the last GU individual win in 2007 when he won the Angel Park Shootout in Las Vegas. It was the fifth individual title in program history.
Walsh carded a third and final round of 66 (-5), matching San Diego State's Brian Song for the lowest-round of the tournament. His score was one stroke off of the competitive course record on the Poppy Hills Golf Course. It was also one stroke shy of his own program record. His final total of 208 (-5) was one stroke from the 54-hole program record, which he and Crick both own at 207.
"With the passion for the game and the hard work (Sean) puts in, it was great to see him grab his first collegiate win," GU Head Coach Robert Gray said. "He got off to a great start today and kept it together. I followed him for his final four holes and he made some clutch shots. He made a long putt for birdie on No. 6, then a fantastic shot out of the fairway bunker on seven to a tough pin on a plateau. On No. 8, his tee shots went through the fairway into the trees and he had to hit a big hook 8-iron that looked really good but ended up over the green. He hit a great pitch and sunk a clutch four-footer to save par.
"On No. 18, his drive ended up just off the fairway in the trees and had a stick up against the ball that he couldn't move or his ball would move, resulting in a penalty. He'd have to hit before making contact with the ball and he made good contact to clear the ditch into the par five. He hit another great shot up to the hole but burned the edge for birdie and tying the course record."
Walsh opened Wednesday on the back-nine and birdied four of the first six holes. He was four-under through the first nine holes. He played a bogey-free round, making five birdies with 13 pars. His 14 birdies were the most in the 84-golfer field. The Keller, Texas native made 33 pars, which was the eighth-highest total in the field. Teammate Ryan Gaske also made 33 pars. Walsh led the tournament on the course's nine par-four holes. He was two-under on those holes, with an average of 3.93.
Walsh entered the final round even-par and two strokes back from the leader in seventh place. He was six strokes off of the lead after the first day in 19th place at two-over. The lone senior on the roster rallied for the title, edging out Saint Mary's Jonathan De Los Reyes and Pavan Sagoo. They finished at three-under (210), and were both one-under (70) in the third round.
Entering the tournament, Walsh had one top-five finish in his career. He finished third at the 2013 West Coast Conference Championships. It's the seventh top-10 finish in his career. The program has only had three top-five finishes in the past four years, and this is the first since the 2012-13 season.
"It felt awesome to get my first college win," Walsh said. "It started off quick with a few birdie putts falling and I just continued to stick to my game plan. I had a great week here with the team though, I feel as though my mindset and mental state was in a great place and it has a lot to do with hanging out with a great group of guys this week."
The Bulldogs placed 12th as a team. The team three-day total of 898 was 46-over. GU was 16-over (300) in the final round.
Will Brueckner shot four-over par (75) Wednesday. The sophomore tied for 61st place with a 230 (+17) three-round total. He made 12 pars and a birdie in the final round. Gaske tied for 67th at 18-over (231). He was 10-over (81) in the third round.
Angus Montgomery (238, +25) and David Ganz (239, +26) were 79th and 80th. Montgomery was seven-over (78) in Round 3, while Ganz was 10-over (81). Playing as an individual, Tyler Munetake finished his first collegiate tournament with a 77 (+6). He placed 78th and was 23-over (236) in the tournament.
"For our team, we just didn't put four good rounds together this week," Gray said. "While our scores don't reflect it, we aren't far off from playing the way we're capable. We'll regroup for our quick turnaround for the Husky next week. Will played pretty good this week despite fighting a few nagging injuries that's keeping him from playing to his ability. This was Ryan's first D1 event and it was a great experience for him, which will serve him well as we move forward.
"Gus struggled with big numbers that made it difficult to shoot low scores on a course that doesn't give up many birdies. It was Tyler's first collegiate event and he started to get more comfortable with the atmosphere each round. David played solid golf for a 27-hole stretch and he'll find consistency as we go forward. As a team, we were off this week but our best golf is definitely ahead of us."
San Diego State won the team title by four strokes. The Aztecs were one-over (285) in the final round and held off the hosts, Saint Mary's, for the title. The Gaels were the lone team to finish under-par in the third round at 282 (-2). SDSU was the only team to finish the tournament under-par at 851 (-1).
The Zags next travel to the Husky Invitational in Cle Elum, Wash. The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Suncadia Resort Monday and Tuesday.
