Reedley goes low to capture 3C2A Men's Golf State Championship
3C2A Men's Golf State Championship Results
Team l Individual l Photo Gallery
MADERA – The Reedley College Tigers set the pace for a historic two rounds of golf, winning the title at the 2023 3C2A Men’s Golf State Championships, which took place Sunday and Monday at Dragonfly Golf Club. History was also made by Saddleback's Carson Adams, who tied a state record with total of 136 strokes, putting him 10 under par, which itself is a state championship record.
The Tigers shot the lowest team round of the 21st century after carding a combined 19-under-par 711 on the 6,795-yard, par-73 course. The previous low-round team total since 2000 took place in 2009, when Fresno City College shot a team score of 712 at Sierra View Country Club in Roseville.
“I’m really proud of the kids,” said head coach Scott Stark.”From one to six, we felt like everybody was a one for us and they just had to kind of contribute in their own way. We don’t really have a ladder per se and they all contributed in their way. We were just most consistent which is what I’m proud of. Somebody had to do it. They all contributed together and that was the biggest thing. It was a true team win.”
Saddleback College took state runner-up honors with a team score of 13-under, 717, which, unfortunately for the Bobcats, would’ve won a state title in 20 of the last 21 state tournaments. Sierra College (724) finished third, followed by Napa Valley (731), Fresno City (732), Cuyamaca (733), Riverside City (734) and College of the Desert (736).
“We couldn’t really relax. I told Coach (Wayne) Westling from Saddleback, he brought out the best in us because we knew we had to shoot low to beat them. The kids came into the tournament knowing we’d probably have to shoot 10-, 12-, or 15-under legitimately to win. To shoot 19 under is above and beyond my wildest dreams.”
Adams blitzed the Madera course with back-to-back, 5-under-par 68s for a two-day total of 136. Adams’ two-round score tied the lowest two-round total since the tournament's start in 1950, equaling Chabot College’s Jeremy Sanchez, who fired a 136 at the 2015 State Championships. His 10-under-par is also the lowest two-round total under par in tournament history, two shots better than Sanchez's 2015 score.
In all, out of 120 rounds of golf in the two-day event, an incredible 55 rounds finished with scores at par or better. Low round on Day 2 went to Reedley’s Elias Pettersson and Mt. San Antonio’s Ethan Thomas, who each shot 6-under-par, 67s, equaling the low round of the event. On Day 1, Reedley’s Chase Bird and Napa Valley’s A.J. Tomasini each carded 67s
(Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA)