SAN MARCOS, CALIF. - On Monday and Tuesday, February 14th and 15th, the Sonoma State men's golf team traveled down south to compete in the annual Cal State San Marcos Fujikura Invitational for their first tournament of the spring 2022 season. After finishing outside of the top-5 in the team's final two events of the fall season, the men would get back on track with a solid t-4th place team finish in a deep and competitive field with seven other CCAA schools. Two under par performances in the second round from veterans Girffin Pace and Thomas Jenkins Jr. highlighted the teams top-5 finish. The Seawolves would climb a couple spots after the first day with a team low 290 in their second round led by Pace and Jenkins. Pace finished round one with a solid 72 even par and three birdies. Lucas Happy also finished just 3-over in his first 18 holes with a one over performance on the back side. 

With some solid rounds after round one, SSU would put up some big performances in the second round of the grueling first day. Four of the teams five golfers would finish with rounds of 76 or better including two under par performances from Jenkins and Pace. The reigning NCAA individual west region champ would have a killer second round as he recorded just one bogey and six birdies to conclude day one. After two early bogeys on the back side, Pace would birdie the final par 4 18th to score under par. Junior transfer Alec Padilla was able to shoot two strokes lower in his second round after birding two of his final three holes.   

After a second round +10 performance, veteran SSU golfer Lucas Happy would put up a much cleaner round with two birdies to finish his third round at just 3-over par for his low round of the tournament. Round three did not produce any under par performances which ultimately prevented the Seawolves from climbing into the top-3, but they would finish the tournament t-4th with Cal State Monterey Bay and inside the top-5 for the first time since October at the Chico State Wildcat Classic. Jenkins birdied three of his last five holes in the final round one to lower his score to just 2-over after recording two bogeys and a double on the front nine.    

Thomas Jenkins Jr., Griffin Pace, and second year player Aidan Oliver all finished inside the top-30. Oliver's low round of the tournament was a 74 (+2) in round one. Jenkins's 67 (-5) second round was good for the second lowest score out of the entire field. The team will look to continue their momentum next week as they travel to Ruby Hills Golf Course for their second event of the season hosted by Holy Names. 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