No. 4 men’s golf dominates tournament


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USC’s men’s golf team destroyed the field at the Jones Invitational at Valencia Country Club Tuesday. The tournament hosted by Pepperdine consisted of three rounds over a two-day span and a fifteen team field.

Atop the leaderboard by 16 shots, USC rolled to a victory finishing with a 14-under score. The second-closest team was Kennesaw State at 2-over par, and Northwestern finished behind them with a score of 6-over.

Freshman Sean Crocker led not only the Trojans, but also the tournament as he garnered a share of the individual title. Crocker shot a final round score of 66, good enough for 6-under par on the course. Crocker finished the tournament with a score of 8-under, forcing a playoff with Winthrop’s Zach Seabolt. When both golfers made par on the first playoff hole, they advanced and Seabolt sunk a birdie putt to secure the win.

“Sean Crocker has had an incredible freshman year so far,” USC coach Chris Zambri said after the tournament. “I expect bigger and better things as we go forward.”

Such high praise was well deserved for Crocker whose final round included six birdies, five of which came on the back nine where Crocker scored 5-under. He birdied 15, 17, and 18 to catch Seabolt.

Crocker has four top-four finishes this season. In the nine spring rounds Crocker has competed in, six have resulted in rounds in the 60s. Crocker has a team-high 14 rounds in this range over the course of the 24 round season thus far.

“We have big goals this year and in order to achieve them we have to win,” Zambri said. “We have to know what it feels like to win and we have to have the skill to win.”

The Trojans certainly displayed their talent with three additional players finishing in the top 11 of the tournament. Sophomore Rico Hoey played well over the two-day tournament, ending at 3-under, which was good enough for fourth in the field of 80. Hoey’s round contained four birdies. The top five finish was the fifth of the year for Hoey.

The youth movement continued for the Trojans as freshman Jonah Texeira tied for sixth with a score of 1-under and a final round with two birdies. Texeira has three top 10 finishes this season.

Junior Bobby Gojuangco also played well for the Trojans. A final round fraught with four birdies landed Gojuangco in a tie for 11th place at even par. Texeira now has four top 11 finishes on the season.

The victory was the third of the season for the Trojans. USC will next be in action on March 9, 10 and 11 at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters which will be played in Las Vegas at the Southern Highlands Country Club.