SIMI VALLEY – Jordan Epstein shot a 4-under par 212 and Hunter Robinson was 4-under in the final round and UC Santa Barbara surged late to finish fourth with a score of 869 in the 20-team Bill Cullum Invitational at Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley on Tuesday.
Epstein was bookended a pair of even-par 72s with a second round score of 68 to come home at 4-under and tie for eighth-place in the field of 108 players. Robinson’s 68 on Tuesday equaled the second lowest score of the round and was instrumental in the Gauchos climbing to fourth in the standings, two shots ahead of Pepperdine.
Junior Brett Silvernail, who entered the final round at 3-under par, shot a 6-over par 78, but still finished with UCSB’s second best score at 219, tying him for 32nd overall. Robinson was one shot behind Silvernail at 220, tying for 35th.
Freshman Will Strauss, making his first appearance for the Gauchos, finished at 5-over par 221 and tied for 43rd. The Gauchos finished fourth out of 20 teams despite their top golfer, 2013 Big West Player of the Year Glen Scher, finishing with a 14-over par 230.
Cal State Fullerton won the tournament with a team score of 849, one shot better than the University of San Diego and three ahead of Arizona State. Long Beach State’s Daniel Chian won the individual medalist honors with a 10-under par 206.
UCSB will return to action at the three-day Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational hosted by the University of Hawaii at the Makai Golf Course on Oahu from Nov. 4-6. That will be the team’s final fall tournament.
