Owls Finish 3rd at WSC Finals; Advance to SoCals

Bakersfield, CA - The Citrus College Men's Golf team put together one of their best performances of the year on Monday morning and afternoon at the 2016 Western State Conference Finals. The Owls, who were stuck in fourth place for the majority of the conference season, came in 3rd cementing a spot in the 2016 Southern California Regionals that takes place in two weeks.

The Owls came out firing during the morning round at Rio Bravo Country Club. Sophomore Tyler Bliss shut a two under 70, while sophomore Tyler Hoefferle came into the clubhouse with a 75. Freshman Brandon Dooley posted a round of 77, with sophomore Benjamin Bencomo firing an 80. Freshman Justin Orona posted the final scoring round of the first 18 with an 82 that put the Owls at a team total of 384.

The early 384, put the Owls in second after the first round, trailing first place College of the Canyons by just six strokes, and leading third and fourth place Ventura College and Santa Barbara City College by 17 and 18 strokes respectively.

In the second round, Citrus fell off a bit. Bliss continued to stay hot, posting a 76. Bencomo carded a 77, while Hoefferle came in with an 82. Dooley meanwhile had an 81, while freshman Trevor Perry posted an 82, for a team score of 398.

The 398 was the fourth best team score in the second round, but the combined 782, was enough to hold off a charging Santa Barbara who finished with a 786. Ventura ended up second with a 779, while Canyons won the event with a 759.

Individually, Bliss was the big winner of the day, as his 146 was the lowest combined score of any golfer. Bencomo and Hoefferle's 157 put them in a three way tie for 13th, while Dooley's 158, was good enough for a two-way tie in 16th.

The Owls' season continues on Monday May 9th at the SoCal Championships. The first of two rounds is scheduled for a 7:00 AM start at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, CA.