COTO DE CAZA, Calif. - Davis McDowell collected the first victory of his collegiate career and the UC San Diego men's golf team placed third Tuesday at the Orange County Collegiate Classic.

McDowell is the first tournament champion from UC San Diego since the team moved to the NCAA Division I level for the 2020-21 academic year.

HOW IT HAPPENED
McDowell, a redshirt sophomore, finished with an eight-under par 208 over 54 holes on the South Course at Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club. After carding rounds of 66 and 73 Monday, he came into Tuesday's third and final round in second place. McDowell put together a round of 69 Tuesday on the par-72, 6,950-yard layout to top the 59-player field and win by two strokes over his nearest competitor. 

McDowell had five birdies Tuesday, four of those coming over a five-hole stretch near the end of his round. His consistent play earned him 11 pars with just two bogeys.

McDowell has been the top finisher in the team's last three tournaments. His previous best result of the 2022-23 season was a tie for third at the Visit Stockton Invitational in October. As a redshirt freshman last season, he bagged a second-place finish at the UC San Diego Invitational.

Only four players finished under par for the tourney. CSU Fullerton owned the next two spots behind McDowell as Harry Doig (-6) was second and Garrett Boen (-5) took third. Doig came into Tuesday as the leader, four strokes in front of McDowell.

UC San Diego earned its third-place finish with an 880, 16-over par. The team shot a 291 and a 298 Monday and followed up with a second 291 Tuesday. The Tritons were third of 10 teams at the conclusion of Monday's action as well.

Just one squad came in under par and that was team champion CSU Fullerton at -14. Cal Poly was a distant second, 20 strokes behind the Titans. 

TRITON RESULTS
1. Davis McDowell, -8 (66-73-69--208)
T-11. Elliot Bunyaviroch, +6 (75-71-76--222)
T-22. Nathan Tseng, +10 (81-76-69--226)
T-36. Calvin Kong, +16 (77-78-77--232)
T-36. Davis Lee, +16 (73-80-79--232)
T-39. Ethan Chen, +18 (79-76-79--234)*
44. Kyle Dougherty, +21 (79-81-77--237)*
53. Jerry Wu, +26 (83-80-79--242)*

* playing as an individual

QUOTABLE FROM DAVIS MCDOWELL
"It means a lot to get my first collegiate win! I've come close a number of times and to finally have it all come together is amazing. I've put a lot of work into my game and it's paying off. It's also due to the great competition from my teammates as we push ourselves. That has helped me grow as a player. 

There was some great competition in this tournament and it was a battle until the end. With assistant coach Jacob Johnson on the bag and six holes to go, I really flipped the switch and made four birdies in five holes. Closing out a tournament has been something I've needed to be better at, and all of the previous experiences helped me overcome that today.

I'd also like to thank my parents for always supporting me and being there for me in my golfing journey. It made today even more special that they could be there to celebrate with me.

I've had the mindset that I can win at the collegiate level and I can now say that I have and I hope to continue winning.

I'm really proud to be out there in Triton gear and colors representing the school. I'm looking forward to the rest of the spring season. This is just the start!" 

TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego finished ahead of three other Big West teams (UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara).
• It was UC San Diego's best finish since taking second of 14 teams at its own UC San Diego Invitational in March of 2022.
• Senior Elliot Bunyaviroch placed just outside of the top-10, tying for 11th at six-over par.
• Triton freshman Nathan Tseng rocketed up the leader board 21 spots Tuesday to place in a tie for 22nd.
• This was UC San Diego's first tournament since October of 2022. 
• This is the third-straight year that UC San Diego has competed in this tournament.
• In 2022, the Tritons placed seventh of 10 teams and Davis McDowell finished a team-best 11th.
• In 2021, the Tritons placed seventh of seven teams and Jerry Wu was the top finisher for the team, tying for 26th.
• The 2021 Orange County Collegiate Classic was UC San Diego's inaugural tournament as an NCAA Division I program. 

UP NEXT
UC San Diego heads to Goose Creek Golf Club in Jurupa Valley for The Joust, which is set for February 20-21.

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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.