FINAL RESULTS (.PDF)
SANTA ROSA -- True freshman
Matt Medeiros shot a one-over-par 73 in the final round to force a three-way tie atop the player leaderboard at six-under-par 210 after 54 holes, but he was eliminated on the first of two playoff holes that would eventually crown Hawai'i-Hilo's Jamie Hall as the individual medalist at the 2012 Sonoma State University Men's Golf Invitational that took place Monday and Tuesday at Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club in Santa Rosa, Calif. Despite holding a 10-stroke lead with one round to play, Sonoma State was unable to hold off Hawai'i-Hilo for the team title, as the Vulcans carded a 10-under-par 278, besting the Seawolves by 14 strokes on Tuesday, and four strokes overall in the tournament.
Medeiros, who shot the third lowest round in school history during Monday's opening round (64) -- and the lowest by anyone not named Jarin Todd -- came into Tuesday's third and final round with a two-stroke lead over teammate
Brandon Lee and a three-stroke lead over three other players, including Hawai'i-Hilo's Jamie Hall. However, Emil Liljeroth of the University of San Francisco, who entered play on Tuesday five shots back, shot a 68 and Hall carded a 70, forcing the three-way tie with Medeiros, who fired a 73 in Tuesday's final round, for medalist honors.
On the first playoff hole, Hall missed an eight-foot birdie putt, but rolled in at par, matching Liljeroth's effort. Medeiros bogeyed the hole, therefore eliminating himself from medalist contention. On the second playoff hole, it came down to another birdie putt for both Hall and Liljeroth, but Liljeroth couldn't sink a 20-foot putt, paving the way for Hall to convert his birdie attempt from six-feet out to capture the trophy.
It would be a close finish on the individual leaderboard, as 11 other golfers finished within five strokes of Medeiros, Hall and Liljeroth. SSU's Lee would tie for fourth place at five-under-par 211, just one shot back of the top three finishers, as did Cal State East Bay's Matt Lee, both Lee's competed as individuals and their scores did not count towards their respective team counts.
Eric Ash also competed as an individual, but finished in a tie for sixth place with UHH's Corey Kozuma, carding a four-under-par 212 in the 54-hole event.
Steven Warne placed eighth in a tie with two other golfers (Cal State San Bernardino's Michael Timpson and UC San Diego's Daniel Yang), sporting a tournament total of three-under-par 213.
Grant Denbrock, another SSU individual, shot one-under-par 215 to tie for 12th place.
The rest of the Sonoma State lineup, outside of Medeiros and Warne, included
Connor Klein (+2, 218; t-20th Place),
Kyle Listar (+5, 221; t-28th) and
Blake Basham (+8, 224; t-37th).
Hawai'i-Hilo won the tournament with a team score of eight-under-par 856, four shots better than runner-up Sonoma State at four-under 860. UC San Diego came in at third, shooting even par (864), while Cal State East Bay (867) placed fourth and Cal Baptist (871) finished fifth. Cal State San Bernardino and Wilmington (DE) tied for sixth at 884, followed by Holy Names (892) in eighth, William Jessup and Academy of Art (902) in ninth, BYU-Hawai'i and Dominican (905) in 11th and Notre Dame de Namur (929) in 13th.
Sonoma State heads to Seaside next week to compete in the Otter Invitational at Black Horse Golf Club. It will be the final tournament of the fall season for the Seawolves, as they will take a four-month break before returning to action on Feb. 26-27, 2013 in San Bernardino.
