The Long Beach State men’s golf team closed out its season on a positive note as it rebounded from a last-place start to finish in seventh place Tuesday at the Big West Conference Championships in Mission Viejo, Calif.
The 49ers, who shot a 312 in the first two rounds of the nine-team tournament, improved by five strokes in the final round for a 19-over par 367 score.
LBSU completed the two-day, 54-hole tournament at 67-over 931, finishing two strokes ahead of eighth-place Cal State Fullerton (+69) and seven shots over UC Riverside (+74) in ninth.
UC Davis claimed the team championship for the second time in three years with a 7-over 871 as the Aggies won by an impressive 17 strokes over second-place Pacific (+24) and 24 shots over Cal State Northridge (+31) in third.
With the victory, the Aggies will claim an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament that will be played May 19-21 at six regional sites across the country.
Sophomore Benjamin Lein paced the the 49ers, posting his best round of the tournament with a 4-over 76 to tie for 22nd. Lein finished the tournament at 16-over 232.
Fellow classmates Philip Chian and Kevin Lim finished one stroke back at 17-over to finish tied for 24th. Chian recorded his best score of the championship with a 3-over 75, while Lim carded a 6-over 78.
Junior Kevin Roy shot a 9-over 81 for a 20-over 236 overall score. Roy finished in a tie for 33rd, while sophomore Raymond Ho, who played as an individual, finished with a 6-over 78 in the third round.
Austin Graham of UC Davis held the lead of 44 players as he captured individual medalist honors with a 6-under 210 to win by four strokes over Nick Delio (-2) of Cal State Northridge.
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