Westmont’s Kat Bevill shot a 2-over 74 in the final round of the Vanguard Invitational to capture fifth place out of a field of 31 golfers on Tuesday at Bella Collina Towne Golf Club in San Clemente. The sophomore dropped four strokes from her previous two rounds.
Bevill ended the 54-hole tournament at 14-over with a score of 230 strokes. She had three birdies on the day, one on the 5-par third hole, one on the 4-par fifth hole and one on the four-par 15th hole.
“Kat shot the lowest round in her college career,” noted Westmont head coach Tom Knecht. “She has always been good, but her game this year has vastly improved over her first year.”
“Drew Thompson also played well today,” added Knecht. “She had a couple of birdies and a really solid round.”
Thompson dropped eight strokes off her second round on Monday to finish with an 87 on the final circuit. She birdied the par-4 second hole and par-4 13th hole.
“Overall, we played much better today than the first two rounds,” assessed Knecht. “We were significantly better top to bottom. I think every player improved.
On the men’s side, Mason Mancasola, finished eighth, shooting a couple 1-over a 73 in the final round.
“He was in the mid to low-70’s every round. For a freshman to finish in the top 10 in his first college tournament was an amazing showing,” said Knecht.
“I was also impressed with Jared Tran. For a first-year player, he played very well. Tom Ridd and Matt Kenney came back after disappointing rounds one and two and shot in the 70s.
Tran shot a two-over 74 in his final round, recording birdies on the part-three 16th hole and the par-four 17th. The freshman finished 21st.
Kenney, who was playing as an independent, also tallied a 73 in the final round. He posted scores of 82 and 80 in the previous rounds.
Ridd shot 75 in the third round
The men’s team finished fourth out of seven teams, all of which were Golden State Athletic Conference opponents.
“I am so proud of the entire team, the way they played, the way they battled today,” said Knecht. “After several months of challenging times, for us to come out and play as well as we did, I couldn’t be more pleased.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.