PALM DESERT, CA- The defending National Champions began their spring season February 24-26 at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate in Palm Desert, California. Hosted at the beautiful Classic Club, CCU was the lone DII school amongst 14 Division I schools and more than held their own. As a team, the Cougars finished as runners up, while
Xavier Bighaus claimed the impressive individual title followed by
Sungyeop Cho with a third place finish.
ROUND ONE
Bighaus showed no signs of rust from the long period of no tournament play during the winter, firing off a stellar 65 with 6 birdies and an eagle on hole 4 to go 7-under. Cho fired off a strong round as well, carding a 68 with five birdies to go 4-under.
Adam Duncan shot a 69 with four birdies, and
Sangha Park posted a 73.
Bradley Mulder fired a 76 with three birdies to close the starting 5.
Peyton Jones competed as an individual at the tournament, and he began with a 72 with five birdies in round one.
ROUND TWO
Cho led the team in the second round on Tuesday, firing off a 66 with 7 birdies to climb the leaderboard. Bighaus came next with a 70 on four birdies, while Duncan also carded a 70 with four birdies of his own. Park tallied a 71 to close the second round, and Mulder shot a 72.
Jones closed with a 72 on four birdies to end day 2 of competition.
ROUND THREE
Bighaus closed in terrific fashion on the final day of competition, shooting a 69 with two birdies and yet another eagle on hole 4 as he claimed the individual title with a final score of -12 to beat out his nearest competitor by a stroke to claim win the tournament. Cho followed in a tie for third as he shot a final round 72 with three birdies and an eagle on hole 4 to close at -10. Duncan tied for 16th overall with a 73 on three birdies, and Park tied for 32nd after a 71 with six birdies. Mulder shot a 77 with a pair of birdies to close the tournament in a tie for 66th
Jones closed with a 74 on three birdies to finish tied for 43rd overall.
As a team, CCU shot a stellar 837 (275, 277, 285) to finish second place by just four strokes at -27. The result for the team and a title from Bighaus showed the golf world that Colorado Christian can compete with anyone at any level, and the team is surely primed for an excellent spring season and a chance to defend their title.
The Cougars will compete again March 2-4 at the Las Vegas Desert Classic hosted at Boulder Creek Golf Club, the site of the upcoming RMAC Championships later in April.
