UC Santa Barbara steamrolled to its most impressive tournament victory in recent memory as it tied the tournament record with a 31-under par 833 to win the 2016 Bill Cullum Invitational by 16 shots over UC Irvine. The tournament was played at Wood Ranch Golf Club.
The Gauchos jumped out to a sizzling start on Monday, shooting a 9-under 279 in the first round to lead second-place Loyola Marymount by seven shots. Their second round was even better as they carded a 13-under par 275 to expand their lead to 14 shots over the Anteaters. UCSB kept rolling in Tuesday’s final round with another 9-under par 279 for the final victory margin of 16 strokes.
“The plan for the final round was to play smart and avoid unnecessary risks, which we accomplished perfectly,” said head coach Steve Lass. “This was a job well done by all of our players.”
The Gauchos were led by junior Brandon Bauman who finished tied for third with a 9-under par 207. His 8-under 64 in the second round on Monday ties the lowest score ever recorded by a UCSB player. He was 2-under in Thursday’s final round. Junior Willy Moffly entered the final round at 9-under par and shot a 1-over par third round to finish at 8-under for the tournament, alone in fifth-place.
Sophomore Nick Swanson tied for sixth-place with a 7-under par 209, freshman Matt Moomjian tied for 21st with a 1-under par 215 and junior Zach Smith shot an even-par 216 to tie for 25th.