Long Beach State senior men’s golfer Michael Drake fired a 65 and 66 on the final day of the 14th Annual Del Walker Intercollegiate Golf Classic to capture the individual medalist at the Virginia Country Club in Long Beach. Drake finished the three-round tournament with an 11-under par 199 to hold a two-stroke lead over Riley Arp of Colorado State and Scott Travers of Santa Clara.
“It feels pretty good and pretty surreal right now,” said Drake. “I knew where I was coming down the stretch with the last two rounds. I was pretty nervous, but I was able to stay calm. I told myself, win or lose that I was pretty satisfied the way I played today!”
Drake carded a two-under 68 on Thursday’s opening round to tie for eighth place. After the second round was suspended due to darkness, play resumed Friday morning with Drake recording an eagle on the par-five 18th hole. He also had four birdies and just one bogey for the round as he continued to move up in the standings with a five-under 65 to finish in fourth. In the final round, Drake continued with his stellar performance going bogey free, while recording four birdies as he carded a four-under 66 and held onto his two-stroke lead.
Colorado State ran away with the team title for the third straight year as the Rams finished with a tournament total of 20-under 1030. The 49ers made a valiant effort as they finished in second place, just nine strokes behind the Rams with a score of 11-under 1039. Oregon, finished in third with a 1042 and Santa Clara in fourth with a 1048.
The 49ers carded a 351 and 352 in the first two rounds and came roaring back with a 336.
LBSU was also led by sophomore Benjamin Lein and senior Steve Gibson as both players finished in the top 20. Lein tied for eighth as he carded scores of 69 and 67 on Friday to finish five-under 205. Gibson tied for 17th as he sizzled with a final round of 65 to finish with a two-under 208. Gibson’s 65 matched his career low round as he recorded the same score in the same round at last year’s Del Walker Invitational. This was Gibson’s second consecutive top 20 finish and sixth overall in his career at LBSU.
Freshman Raymond Ho moved up nine spots in the standings as he tied for 57th after carding rounds of 73-74-70 for a seven-over 217.
Fellow classmate Philip Chain finished in 66th with rounds of 74-71-74 for a nine-over 219.
Playing as individuals, sophomore Austin Love tied for 46th with a 215 (74-72-69) and senior Robbie Berton closed out the tournament in 89th with a 228 (73-79-76)
“First of all, congratulations to Michael Drake on a great performance these last two days,” said 49er Head Coach Bill Poutre. “It’s his first college win at Virginia Country Club, so it’s pretty special to him right now. I’m pretty happy on how the team played and came very close to winning our tournament. This was one of the strongest fields we’ve had at the Del Walker and to come out beat teams such as Arizona and Oregon, shows that our team has the potential to play with anyone!”
The 49ers return to action as they travel to Kahuku, Hawaii, Nov. 2-4, for the Turtle Bay Invitational hosted by the University of Hawaii.
Report by LBSU