2009 West Coast Conference Champions
Head Coach: Dr. Gary Nelson
All-WCC Team: Domingo Jojola
WCC Coach of the Year: Dr. Gary Nelson
WCC Team Tournament Scores:
1) USF 294, 271, 297 - 862
2) Loyola Marymount 279, 290, 294 - 863
T3) San Diego 295, 283, 288 - 866
T3) Pepperdine 285, 289, 292 - 866
USF WCC Tournament Scores:
2) Domingo Jojola 70, 67, 73 - 210
T12) Chris Cunningham 71, 70, 75 - 216
T12) Kurt Nino 75, 64, 77 - 216
21) Kyle Prolo 78, 70, 72 - 220
T36) Ji Hwan Park 79, 70, 82 - 231
The USF men's golf team held off a furious final round charge by Loyola Marymount and claimed a one shot victory in the 2009 West Coast Conference Championship on a windswept afternoon at the Hiddenbrooke Golf Club. The Dons owned a five shot lead against LMU heading into the final 18 holes and needed every one of them for the narrowest margin of victory in the event since 1986 - which San Francisco won in a sudden death playoff against Portland at the Half Moon Bay Golf Course.
USF trailed by as many as four shots with three holes remaining, but junior Chris Cunningham connected on an eagle on 18, senior Kurt Nino finished birdie, par, birdie, while junior Domingo Jojola finished birdie, birdie and then made a par putt to secure the victory for the Dons in regulation.
San Francisco shot a two-under 862 (294, 271, 297), while the Lions shot 863 (279, 290, 294). San Diego (295, 283, 288) and Pepperdine (285, 289, 292) shared third place at 866.
Jojola posted a runner-up finish in the event at six-under 210 (70, 67, 73), one shot behind the LMU medalist Greg Moss (67, 68, 74). Cunningham (71, 70, 75) and Nino (75, 64, 77) shared 12th place at even-par 216 for the Dons. Jojola led the field in par-5 scoring at a remarkable 13-under (4.13) and was second in birdies (15), while Nino was third at eight-under (4.47) on par-5 holes and was fourth in birdies (13).
After a fifth place finish in 2007 and a program-worst seventh place showing a year ago, USF men's golf is on the rise and adavanced to the 2009 NCAA West Regional after claiming the league's automatic qualifier by winning the WCC title.
Did You Know? USF's second round team score of 271 at the WCC Championships is the lowest round for the team during the graphite shaft era (1993-present) and the best since the Dons shot a 273 in the 2003 Alister MacKenzie.
They Said It: "This is a very special moment," USF Head Coach Dr. Gary Nelson said. "How often do you make a three-year plan where everything falls into place? It doesn't happen that often and it's gratifying to see things fall into place. It didn't just happen. It took hard work from the players, coaches and support staff. I am proud of this team and how hard they have worked to achieve this."
