Competing as an individual, junior Keith Moles carded a 1-over par 73 in Tuesday’s final round at the UC Santa Barbara Intercollegiate to finish at 4-under for the tournament and alone in fifth-place, the highest finish of his career and the highest of any Gaucho player in the UCSB Intercollegiate at Sandpiper Golf Course

UCSB shot a 9-over par 297 as a team to finish with a 19-over 883, good for sixth place.

Boise State won the tournament, leading from start to finish. The Broncos shot an even-par 288 on Tuesday to finish at 853, 11-under. Weber State was 3-under in the final round and wound up two shots back of the winners. Cal Baptist (Even-par, 864), Utah State (+6, 870) and Dixie State (+14, 878) rounded out the top-five. UC San Diego finished five shots back of Santa Barbara and in seventh-place. The top seven teams in the tournament ended the day in the exact same spot in which they began it.

Moles entered the final round at Sandpiper Golf Course tied for third. He finished six shots back of the tournament’s individual medalist, Max Charles of Boise State, who used a 5-under 67 on Tuesday to complete a 10-under 206 performance, two shots ahead of Weber State’s Isaac Buerger and five ahead of his Bronco teammate, Hugo Townsend, and CSUN’s Blake Brothers.

Freshman Andrew Ricci was 2-over par on the day and finished the three rounds at 2-under, tying for seventh-place. Like Moles, the next two highest finishing Gauchos were competing as individuals. Junior Jacob Montestied for 18th at 3-over par and freshman Blake McGovern was 21st at 4-over.

A trio of UCSB players – John Bush, Matt Moomjian and Rajvir Bedi – tied for 29th at 7-under par. Bedi was also competing as an individual. Senior Brandon Bueno (+10, tied for 41st) and freshman Ethan Barnes (+19, tied for 53rd) rounded out the Gauchos’ scoring players. 

Moles was one of four Santa Barbara players who recorded eagles in the tournament, joining Ricci, Barnes and Montes. In addition to his eagle, Moles had a team-leading 12 birdies, followed by Moomjian with 10. 

The Gauchos will take time off before returning the action at the 2021 Big West Conference Championship, held this year from Sunday-Tuesday, May 2-4 at the La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, Calif.