Trojans Continue Fall Slate At Nike Golf Collegiate
October 01, 2015 | Men's Golf
The USC men's golf team, led by All-American duo junior Rico Hoey and sophomore Sean Crocker, continues the fall season at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational, Sunday through Tuesday (Oct. 4-6) at the Pumpkin Ridge G.C. in Portland, Ore.
The Trojans will join host Oregon, Texas, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Wake Forest, Georgia, Arizona, Clemson, Duke, Ohio State and Oregon State. The first round will be played at Ghost Creek, a par-71, 6,834-yard course. The final two rounds in the 54-hole event will be on the Witch Hollow course, par 72, 7,015 yards.
Action will begin at 8 a.m. each day off the first and 10th tees. Results will be available at Golfstat.com.
The Trojans, under 10th-year coach Chris Zambri, returns four of its five starters from its 2015 postseason run to the NCAA Championships final, including Hoey, Crocker, senior Bobby Gojuangco and sophomore Jonah Texeira. Other returning golfers include senior Andrew Levitt and juniors Danny Ochoa and David Kim. Kim was a 2015 spring semester transfer in January but redshirted last season.
Zambri welcomes three freshmen into the Trojan Family, including Justin Suh, Ryan Slater and Ing Ratanavadi
Crocker, a 2015 GCAA All-American third-teamer, is coming off one of the top seasons ever by a Trojan freshman in 2015 when he led the team in stroke average (70.39), rounds in the 60s (19) and top 10 finishes (eight). Crocker's 19 rounds under 70 were the most by a Trojan since Jamie Lovemark had 20 as a 2007 freshman.
Hoey, a 2015 GCAA All-American honorable mention pick, was second on the team with a 70.86 stroke average, 18 rounds in the 60s and six top 5 finishes.
Both were also All Pac-12 first team picks while Crocker, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, joined Texeira on the All-Pac-12 freshman team.
USC's run to the 2015 NCAA Championship match play final began with a fifth-place finish after four rounds of stroke play, earning a match play spot for the first time since 2009. The Trojans then defeated Texas, 4-1, in the NCAA quarterfinals and dispatched of Illinois, 3.5-1.5, in the semifinals. USC faced LSU in the final and fell 4-1, with three of the five matches decided with just one hole to play.
2015-16 EVENT RECAPS
HUSKY INVITATIONAL
Sophomore Sean Crocker fired his third consecutive round under par to finish second at 6-under, junior Rico Hoey staged a late rally to capture fourth at par as the then-No. 5 USC men's golf team finished fourth overall in the season-opening Husky Invitational in Suncadia, Wash., on Sept. 22. The Trojans wrapped play at 18-over 870 (300-284-286) with their second straight strong round. USC finished five back of Oregon and Washington, which tied for first at 13-over 865. Oregon State was third at 17-over 869. Troy's final two rounds were the best combined rounds among the 14 teams. Crocker, who had eight top 10 finishes last year, took second at 6-under 207 (69-68-70) while Hoey, who had six top 5s last year, was fourth at even 213 (74-70-69) as the pair picked up where they left off from their 2015 All-American seasons. Crocker eagled 3 and 15 in the final round to go with birdies on 11 and 16, though late bogeys on 17 and 18 cost him a chance at his second career win.
Players Mentioned
