FRESNO, Calif. – Sophomore Brandon Bauman shot a 5-under par 208 and tied for eighth-place as UC Santa Barbara opened the 2015-16 season with a 10th-place finish at the Nick Watney Invitational played at Fort Washington Country Club.
Bauman started quickley and ended quickly on the par-71 course recording a 3-under par 68 in the first round and a 4-under par 67 in the final round. He entered the third round tied for 20th and jumped 12 spots to tie with Sacramento State’s Aaron Beverly for eighth, 11 shots back of the medalist, Pavan Sagoo of St. Mary’s who careded a 16-under par 197.
Another UCSB sophomore, Zach Smith, jumped six spots on the final day to finish tied for 18th with a 2-under par 211.
As a team, the Gauchos started the third round in 12th-place and jumped two spots to finish in tie for 10th with Cal Poly at 3-over par 855. St. Mary’s easily won the team title at 27-under par, eight shots ahead of Fresno State and 10 shots ahead of Cal.
Rounding out the UCSB players were Ryan Cuenca (7-over par 220, tied for 58th), Willy Moffly (9-over par 222, tied for 62nd) and Amol Mahal (11-over par 224, tied for 68th).
The Gauchos return to the links on Oct. 19-20 when they travel to the Bill Cullum Invitational at Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley, Calif.
