STOCKTON, Calif. - Davis McDowell of the UC San Diego men's golf team placed third of 93 players as the three-day Visit Stockton Invitational wrapped up Saturday.

As a team, the Tritons tied for 11th in the 16-school field.

The University of the Pacific hosted the tournament at the Stockton Golf & Country Club.

HOW IT HAPPENED
McDowell tied for third with a 54-hole total of 204, nine-under par on the par-71, 6,566-yard course at Stockton. He opened the event Thursday with a career-best 65 (-6), followed with a 71 (even par) in Friday's second round, and shot a 68 (-3) today to close it out.

Over McDowell's 54 holes, he registered 36 pars and 15 birdies. 

McDowell's 65 was the best single-round by a Triton since the team became an NCAA Division I program in 2020. In fact, the last Triton to shoot a 65 was Adam Navigato, who carded a pair of 65's at the Otter Invitational in October of 2017. 

Freshman Nathan Tseng placed among the top-30 as well, tying for 26th at one-under par. He recorded rounds of 70, 67, and 75.

After shooting a season-best round of 274 (-10) Thursday, UC San Diego found itself in second place. However, the team had a tough second round Friday, finishing with a 294 (+10) and falling into 11th place. The Tritons posted a better final round, shooting a 287 (+3) to finish the tourney with a three-over par 855, tied with Pacific for 11th place.

TRITON RESULTS
T-3. Davis McDowell, -9 (65-71-68--204)
T-26. Nathan Tseng, -1 (70-67-75--212)
T-52. Ethan Chen, +4 (66-78-73--217)
T-72. Elliot Bunyaviroch, +9 (73-78-71--222)
90. Kyle Dougherty, +16 (73-80-76--229)

THE WINNERS
Grand Canyon, which made a late run Thursday to knock UC San Diego out of first-place and into second, finished with a 22-under par 830 to run away with the team title. The Antelopes shot rounds of 273, 277, and 280 to earn the title by six strokes over UC Irvine and Washington State, which tied for second at 16-under par. 

Eight of the 16 teams finished the tournament under-par.

The individual medalist was Jakub Hrinda of George Washington. He finished 14-under par with rounds of 70, 62, and 67. Grand Canyon's Parker Redding was four strokes back in second place. 

Twenty-nine players were under-par after 54 holes.

FRED SAID
"Davis (McDowell) continued his outstanding play this season with a great three-day score of 204, nine-under par. His confidence and leadership is fantastic. He continues to work hard and perform at a very high level. He is one of the best players in the country and at some point, he will win college tournaments. He had a horrible break in a bunker in round two, but still shot even-par, which showed great patience and maturity.

The team had our best round since transitioning to Division 1. We took a huge step forward. In round two, we took a step back, although Davis and Nathan (Tseng) played well. These are all normal steps that we are taking as we become a good team. We are going to work hard over the break so we can continue our improvement in 2023."

Head Coach Fred Hanover

TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego's opening round 274 on Thursday was eight strokes better than the team's previous low round this season.
• Davis McDowell has been UC San Diego's top finisher in each of the team's last three events.
• There were six Big West teams in contention including Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara.
• The course played to a 71.9 stroke average with a tourney-high 72.85 in the final round.
• This was one of two three-day tournaments the Tritons will compete in this season, the second being the El Macero Classic in mid-April.

UP NEXT
With their fall schedule in the rear-view mirror, the Tritons kick off their winter/spring slate Feb. 13-14 at the Orange Country Collegiate Classic at Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club.

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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 III and II 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.