Men's Golf finishes well at Cal Pac Championships
The Keelhaulers finished the '21 season strongly, especially senior Josh Hauser and John VanDixHorn who led the way for Cal Maritime.
The two seniors found themselves relishing their last times as collegiate athletes as both finished atop the leaderboard for the Keelhaulers with Hauser (229) placing first for the team with his rounds improving each day flirting with par (71) each time by shooting a 78 and 77 on the first two days respectively, and a 74 on the final day. He would end up finishing tied for eighth overall among 34 golfers.
VanDixhorn (224) had the second-best score for Cal Maritime and shot nearly 40 strokes better than the first time he came to the course to start the year, chipping away with rounds of 86, 82, and 76 finishing tied for 25th overall. Freshman Nate Metcalf (248) placed third as the Keelhaulers would have three top 30 finishes for the first time all season.
Jake Banich (253) and Ricky Castillo (304) rounded out the Cal Maritime outing as Castillo was able to shave off his previous two rounds to start the tournament with 103's to a final-round score of 98.
Weather conditions were more mellow this time around in Arizona, but the Keelhaulers were still met with formidable winds in Prescott. The first go at Antelope Valley Golf Course was accompanied by gusts of wind and cold weather. While the temperatures stayed pleasant on this trip, winds would pick up in the afternoons.
The Keelhaulers were on the South Course for their first visit to Antelope Hills to start the 2021 golf season, this time they were on the North Course, where the wind was not nearly as constant but the fairways were more narrow. The Keelhaulers had a relatively similar outing compared to last time as a team with rounds of 333, 319, and 324 for a total team score of 976, good for a sixth-place finish ahead of Simpson, as host Embry-Riddle(896) would take first place with fellow Arizona foe Benedictine-Mesa (899) right behind them.
The underclassmen on the team included three freshmen who felt they grew immensely as golfers, not just from tournament to tournament but day-to-day within a tournament. The team had a blast and enjoyed getting an extra opportunity to pick the brain of not only their Head Coach but of the Captain of the Training Ship Golden Bear, Sam Pecota, that other cadets may not get.
Though Hauser and Van DixHorn will graduate, the Keelhaulers will return the three freshmen of Metcalf, Banich, and Bean along with the junior Castillo.