Gaels Finish 3rd at San Diego Classic
CHULA VISTA, Calif. — In the final round of the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic, No. 44 Saint Mary’s moved up a spot in the leaderboard, shooting 10-under in the final 18 holes, to finish in third place at the San Diego Country Club on March 12.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Blake Hathcoat had his best finish of the season so far as he placed tied for first after a strong final round. Hathcoat completed the day at 4-under par after shooting a 68 in the final round, which is just one stroke back of his season best. The Fresno native finished the tournament with a combined score of 6-under and a total round score of 210.
“I hit the ball really well the final round, and it felt great to finally make some putts,” Hathcoat said. “It was awesome to finish strong and to put up some good scores for the team. It’s a lot of fun to see our team get better every day, and I know we have a lot of great things to come.”
No. 11 Cole Hammer of Texas and No. 43 Mason Andersen of Arizona State placed tied for first alongside Hathcoat. Andersen clinched the individual win off a three-way playoff by shooting a par on the 18th hole.
Michael Slesinski had the second best performance for Saint Mary’s with a tied for eighth placement at 1-under. For the second time this season, the junior has landed a top-10 finish with his second best career total round score of 215. Slesinski collected three birdies on the day and finished the final round at 2-under.
As a team, Saint Mary’s combined for a 4-under score in the two-day tournament to place third in the 15-team competition. No. 4 Arizona State took the title on Tuesday with a 10-under finish to place just one stroke ahead of No. 8 Texas. Rounding out the top-5 was No. 33 North Carolina in fourth and San Diego State in fifth.
“The team played two of the three rounds very solid, especially the final round,” said Scott Hardy, Head Coach of Saint Mary’s golf team. “Beating a strong field by a good margin in the final round is a great step toward being ready to compete well in the postseason. We continue to improve each week and I’m excited to see the hard work our players put in pay off with good tournament finishes.”
THIRD ROUND HIGHLIGHTS
- Hathcoat scored seven total birdies with five in the back nine.
- Saint Mary’s combined for a 278 round score, which is the best round score on the day.
- Three Gaels birdied the par 4 15th hole on Tuesday.
- This is the second time this season Saint Mary’s placed third as a team.
