Sonoma State’s men’s golf team had a historic showing this past week at the Hanny Invitational that is hosted by Stanislaus State in Turlock, Calif. The Seawolves opened the tournament with a score of 17-over-par 305 and a second-round score of three-over-par 291.  After the slow start in the first two rounds, the Seawolves were in ninth place going into the third round of the tournament.

In the third round of the tournament, the Seawolves turned it around and propelled themselves to tie for third place in the tournament with host school Stanislaus State. The team had a historic round shooting 16-under-par 272, breaking the school’s record for total score under par in a round. This score tied the school’s record for the lowest team strokes in a round while breaking the tournament record.

The previous school record for total score under par in a round was 10-under-par in 2009 at the GCU Thunderbird Invitational. They tied the school’s record for lowest team strokes in a round from when the team shot nine-under-par 271 at the 2007 St. Martin’s Invitational according to Sonoma State men’s golf website. 

“I feel like we dug deep and found a common goal between all of us to go out and prove ourselves on the course,” said third-year Business Marketing major, Griffin Pace when asked about what the major keys were in moving from ninth place to tied to third place. “Sometimes low scores just come to you and we were really fortunate to have everybody play well in the same round.”

To go with the record-breaking performance in the third round, Pace finished tied for fifth place in individual scoring with a score five-under-par 212 for the tournament. He also had his lowest round score of the season with a three-under-par 69 in the third round powered by birdies on 13, 14, 15 and 16. This performance led to Pace winning the CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) Golfer of the Week award. 

“I couldn’t be any prouder of this team. I actually had no idea the team was playing well until I finished the round. After the way we’ve been playing this year it was really good to see positives come from our last tournament before going into the postseason,” said Pace. 

“Griffin is a unique player in the sense that he has a lot of confidence in his ability to play and it comes out in a way that he doesn’t get rattled,” said Head Coach Val Verhunce. “He loves the grind of fighting and that is one of his biggest assets.” 

Pace stated he enjoyed getting recognition for his solid play for his performance after being a bit disappointed he didn’t win the tournament individually. “If anything, it helps me to remember how good I played instead of focusing on the bad. This just boosts my confidence and makes me hungry going into the postseason knowing our team is strong.” 

The Seawolves will now prepare for the postseason as the CCAA championship is right around the corner. The championship will take place from April 10 through April 14. For more information on the team and the tournament make sure to head over to sonomaseawolves.com.