Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
USC Invitational
Patel Surges to Fifth Place Finish
3/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 1, 2011
FRESNO, Calif. - Bhavik Patel made a huge push on the final round of competition at the USC Collegiate Invitational to finish tied for fifth place. The Bulldogs finished the tournament, held at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif., in 13th place against a highly competitive field.
Patel (71-73-67--211), a junior from Bakersfield, Calif., fired a 4-under, 67 on the final round which tied him for the lowest round of the tournament. He tied with No. 11 Andrew Yun of Stanford at 2-under overall. This marked Patel's fifth top five finish of the year.
Patel started the round tied for 21st but shot up 16 spots after knocking in eight birdies. Bhavik came into the tournament fourth in the nation with 83 birdies and, after the two days of competition, added 16 more to that total.
"This will elevate his status a lot," head coach Mike Watney said of Patel. "With this being a big field, he really wanted to do well."
The field at the invite consisted of eleven top 45 teams, seven of which are in the top 25, plus the No. 1 team in the nation, UCLA. The Bulldogs (299-301-291--891) came into the day tied for 12th but were not able to move up the leader board.
"The results pretty much reflected the rankings," Coach Watney stated. "It is a very tight, very tough golf course to play on."
Despite it being the first time freshman Nate Jessup (75-77-74--226) faced the 6,869-yard, par-71 course, he recorded a 3-over on the final round and finished the tournament at 13-over. Senior Bryan Hogan (78-74-75--227) ended right behind Jessup with a 14-over. Senior Brad Wyatt (77-77-75--229) and junior Brian Sunker (76-83-77--236) shot a 16- and 23-over, respectively.
No. 15 San Diego State (282-279-289--850, -2), a participant in the 2011 Fresno State Lexus Classic, held off UCLA (280-286-286--852, E) for the tournament title. Patrick Cantlay (67-72-68--207, -6) of UCLA, the No. 3 ranked player in college golf, took home the individual title.
The Bulldogs return to action March 7-8 to host the Fresno State Lexus Classic at Sunnyside Country Club.
"We Are Your Team!" - The men's golf team will host the Fresno State Lexus Classic at Sunnyside Country Club on March 7 & 8. Check www.gobulldogs.com for more information.
Players Mentioned
