By a margin of 11 strokes, the Reedley College men's golf team won the first Big 8 Conference tournament in Taft Monday afternoon.
Coach Scott Stark's Tigers finished with a team score of 375, finishing ahead of Fresno City College (386) and Monterey Peninsula (387). Taft did not post a team score.
Cole Obrigewitsch (Regina, Canada), Patrick Sperling (Clovis North), and Jacob Moller (Sweden) each shot 73 to lead the Tigers. Miguel Villa (Australia) followed with a 77 while Emil Ericsson (Sweden) had a 79. Zach Ruskofsky's (Clovis) round of 80 was thrown out.
The Tigers are scheduled to play in the Eagle Golf Classic in San Jacinto on Wednesday before competing in the second Big 8 tournament on Feb. 15.
They opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the Point Conception Tournament in Lompoc on Jan. 30-31.
By: Will Goldbeck
The Tigers played the Big 8 Conference Opening Tournament at Buena Vista Golf Course in Taft with a very solid round of golf, shooting a team score of 375 (+15), defeating Fresno City College by 11 shots, Monterey Peninsula College by 12 shots, and Taft College, who did not post a team score due to only 2 players, on the afternoon. The weather conditions in Taft were comfortable and sunny, with temperatures in the mid-60s, and some wind, at about 8-10 mph. The greens were a bit fuzzy but moderately fast, having been punched about 2 weeks earlier, but the Tigers took advantage of their opportunities on the day and made a total of 12 birdies and 1 Eagle as a team, and took the early lead in the Big 8 South Division. Leading the way for the Tigers and the overall tournament medalists on the day were Cole Obrigewitsch, Jacob Moller, and Patrick Sperling, who each posted very solid rounds of 1 over par 73. Jacob made 4 birdies on the day, which also led every player in the field. Cole carded 3 Birdies on his round, and Patrick made 1 Eagle and 1 Birdie on the afternoon. Miguel Villa carded a round of 77, making 2 Birdies on the day. Emil Eriksson finalized the scoring for the Tigers on the afternoon by posting a round of 79. All 5 Tiger scores on the day were in the Top 8 players for the tournament, which is a terrific reason for the margin of victory! The win moved the young Tigers to 3-0 in the Big 8 Conference, and 4-0 overall this season. Next up for the Tigers on Wednesday will be a trip to San Jacinto in Southern California to play in the Eagle Invitational, hosted by Mt. San Jacinto College, at Soboba Springs Golf Course. A tee times start is scheduled for 11:00 am.