VALENCIA, California - Following Monday's 36 holes of play at the Bill Cullum Invitational, the UC San Diego men's golf team is sixth and Davis McDowell is fourth.

CSUN is hosting the two-day, 54-hole tournament at The Oaks Club at Valencia in Los Angeles County. 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons are 24-over par after totaling a 600 on the par-72, 7,115-yard layout. They opened with a 295 and followed with a 305 in round two.

McDowell, a redshirt freshman, is one of just four players under par for the day. He sits at 1-under with a 143 after firing rounds of 68 and 75. His first round 68 tied for the third-lowest score of the day.

Senior Ryan Vaughan is also among the top-20, tied for 18th with a 149 (74-75), 5-over par.

Also figuring in the team scoring for the Tritons are senior Jared Gross (tied for 32nd, 76-76--152), freshman Francis Catalano (tied for 47th, 77-79--156), and sophomore Jerry Wu (tied for 47th, 77-79--156).

Sophomores Akira Isayama (tied for 52nd, 78-79--157) and Davis Lee (tied for 63rd, 78-82--160), along with senior Sergi Mata (tied for 59th, 77-82--159), are playing as individuals.

The host Matadors are on top of the 12-team field with a 3-over 579. Utah State is six strokes behind in second place and third-place Cal State Fullerton is 15 strokes back of CSUN.

The individual leader is Brian Arnold out of UC Santa Barbara, who heads into Tuesday's final round at 6-under par with a 138. Arnold posted rounds of 67 and 71 to claim front runner status in the 79-player field.

Scores climbed in the second round as a wind advisory was in effect for the Santa Clarita Valley. Just three squads - UC Irvine, Utah Valley, and UC Riverside - shot better in the second round than the first. Cal State Fullerton was consistent, shooting a 297 in both rounds.

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TRITON TIDBITS
• The Tritons competed in this tournament in October of 2019. They placed ninth of 13 teams.
• It was the first outing of the season for senior Sergi Mata as well as sophomores Akira Isayama and Davis Lee. All three are playing as individuals.
• This is the third tourney of the season for UC San Diego and the first time any Tritons have played as individuals.
• This is the 25th running of the tournament and the first to be held away from Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley.
• There are seven Big West Conference teams in contention: Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Hawaii, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara.
• The last Big West team to win the tournament is UC Santa Barbara, which did so in 2016.

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UP NEXT
The third and final round tees of Tuesday at 8 a.m. It can be followed with live scoring.

For the team's complete fall schedule, click here.

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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.