WAHIAWA, HI. - On Wednesday, October 26th, the Sonoma State men's golf team finished out their first of two tournaments in Hawaii this week as they jumped four spots on the final day to finish t-6th at the HPU Sharks Shootout. On a gettable course, the Seawolves would be disappointed with a 294 (+6) opening round, but would quickly bounce back as we have seen as a common trend throughout their fall campaign and record a blistering 11-under par to climb into the top-6. 

Senior Griffin Pace would represent the only SSU golfer to record an opening round under par, as he finished with a 71 (-1). The Seawolves were up and down all day as they did finish with 16 combined birdies but numerous holes under par and costly double bogeys would bring them down to an over par start. Second year golfers Aidan Oliver and Nick Friedman would put together decent rounds as they combined to finish 3-over par. 

A new day brings new golf though and head coach Val Verhunce and his squad would certainly live by that slogan as they put together a staggering 277 (-11) team round to make a respectable finish at t-6th. The Seawolves second day explosions have been a common trend all season and has made them one of the best teams in the country. 

Just one double bogey on the entire day would allow for three players with rounds under par, as the veteran out of Irvine would lead the charge once again. Pace would put together a new season low in his second round as he went on an absolute tear in his final nine holes of play. After starting the round just 1-under after his first 11 holes, Pace would rattle off 6 birdies in his final 7 holes to finish with a 65 (-7), tying the tournament low round of the day. 

Pace's fantastic finish would also jump him nine spots on the individual leaderboard, giving him his third top-5 finish of the season. Sonoma State's score card's were filled with red as the team recorded over 20 birdies in their second round. Sophomores Sean Markham and Aidan Oliver were the team's next best finishers as each finished the two-round tournament t-29th. Markham had a fantastic second round like Pace, and represented one of two sub-70 rounds. Markham went on a similar tear as Pace did and birdied 4 of his final 7 holes to finish the day with a 68 (-4). 

Oliver was easily one of the team's most consistent golfers on the week as he finished with a 1-under second round to round out the top-30 individually. His four bogey's were the fewest on the team over the course of the two days.

Nick Friedman finished the tournament just 3-over good for t-45th while Colin Huang rounded out the group with a 150 (+6), shooting just 2-over in his final round.   

Despite the slow start in the first round, the Seawolves get to look forward to some more golf this week as they will remain in Hawaii and play in the annual Dennis Rose Invitational hosted by Hawaii Hilo, at Hapuna Golf Course. Live scoring links can be found at sonomaseawolves.com. Be sure to follow your Seawolves on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest SSU athletics updates and information. Sonoma State athletics also has launched a new fan app in partnership with From Now On. Download the free app today in both the Apple and Google Play stores by searching Sonoma State Seawolves in the app store. @SonomaSeawolves | #NomaNation