CHINO HILLS, CA– College of the Canyons Men’s golf clinched their second straight SoCal regional title, their 10th championship in the tournament’s history.
“We really played well as a team and our game has been trending in the right direction,” said Cougars’ golfer Owen Crockett, who finished with a 144 score through the tournament.
A chilly day saw the 3C2A Southern California Regional Golf tournament, where College of the Canyons and eight other community colleges competed for the regional title. All nine schools kicked off a day that included 36 holes, divided into two rounds.
“Over the past month, we’ve really had a lot of success and [it] feels good going into State’s next week,” said Crockett.
The Cougars’ top golfer, Ethan Posthumus, began the day by shooting the team’s lowest score of 67 in the first round and ended the day with a birdie on the 18th hole. His second-round score of 71 landed him as the second-lowest individual scorer of the tournament.
Next up was Crockett. He birdied on the 4th and 5th holes, and his total score stayed on par throughout the day, helping keep the Cougars steady.
Crockett’s teammate, Jacques Struyf followed and turned a nice birdie on the par-4 7th hole, and his quiet celebration said it all. Although the team did not use his second-round score, his total of 149 supported a great overall team performance.
Carson Diaz was the team’s low scorer in round two. He landed a birdie on the 15th hole thanks to this beautiful approach shot. Diaz carded an impressive 70 in the second round, six strokes better than his first-round score.
Anthony Nilson was steady throughout the day. His first round score of 2 under par helped keep the Cougars’ score low.
Edward Beehag improved later in the day after his first-round 77 was scratched. He rebounded with a four-stroke improvement in round two for 150.
As a team, College of the Canyons posted a combined score of 719, the lowest among all nine schools. That makes them back-to-back Southern California Regional Champions — and marks their 10th regional title.
“I want them to know to be quietly confident,” says Gary Peterson, who was the Assistant Head Coach for the Cougars’ men’s golf team.
“I want the other schools to see our van pull up in the parking lot, and [see] a College of the Canyons golf bag come out of the van, and I want the other kids, [the other golfers] to say ‘OK, who’s coming in second?” Coach Peterson wished.
