Monday, April 12
Pasatiempo Golf Club - Santa Cruz, Calif.
9:00 AM
UC Irvine
at
Western Intercollegiate
UCI Ready for 74th Western Intercollegiate
April 10, 2021 | Men's Golf
74th Western Intercollegiate
Dates: April 12-14 (Monday-Wednesday)
Location: Pasatiempo Golf Club - Santa Cruz, Calif.
Par/Yardage: Par 70 - 6,615 yards
TV: GOLF Channel
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Notes (PDF)
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team makes their way to Santa Cruz for the 74th Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club, April 12-14. It is the Anteaters' final tune-up before the Big West Championships in May.
GOLF Channel will provide live coverage of the Western Intercollegiate from 4-7 p.m. (PDT) on Monday and Tuesday, and 1-4 p.m. (PDT) on Wednesday.
TOURNAMENT INFO
The three-day tournament will be played at the par-70, 6,615-yard course at the renowned Pasatiempo Golf Club. Eighteen holes are scheduled for each day with tee times starting at 8:54 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The Anteaters are part of a 13-team field that features six programs ranked among Golfstat.com's top-75, including No. 7 Pepperdine, No. 23 San Diego State, No. 37 Stanford, No. 43 Washington, No. 57 USC and No. 63 Oregon. Competing for UCI are Jonathan Kang, Nathan Irwin, Darien Zhao, Henry Fitzhugh, Kolbe Irei and Matt Gunson in a 6-count-5 format.
FAMILIAR GROUND
The Anteaters have competed in the Western Intercollegiate 18 times under 23rd-year head coach Paul Smolinski. Since Smolinski's first season at the helm in 1998-99, the 'Eaters have a high team finish of second (2008, 2003), and a high individual finish of third by Pete Fernandez (2014). They have been a part of each of the last 10 tournaments at Pasatiempo Golf Club, and were also scheduled to take part in the 2020 Western Intercollegiate that was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine finished 14th with a 54-hole season-best 871 at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Ariz., April 5-6. For the second tournament in a row, Nathan Irwin (71-72-74) and Darien Zhao (72-75-70) tied for the team lead as they both carded a 217 to place 39th overall. Jonathan Kang had two rounds below par and tied for 48th with a total of 218 (69-78-71).
NEWS & NOTES
• The Anteaters opened the 2021 campaign by co-hosting the OC Collegiate Classic, Feb. 8-9, at Coto de Caza.
• It marked the third year in a row they started the spring season on one of their home courses.
• It was also their first team competition in 11 months.
• Junior Nathan Irwin has led the 'Eaters in each of the last three tournaments.
• He tied for ninth at the UC San Diego Invitational and tied for 16th at the Sacramento State Invitational.
• Irwin carded a career-best 216 (E) at Sac State and enters the week with a 74.87 stroke average.
• Graduate student Jonathan Kang is back after the NCAA granted an extra year to the 2020 spring sport seniors.
• Since the start of the shortened 2019-20 campaign, Kang has registered a 73.45 average through 11 tournaments.
• He has seven career top-10 finishes including at each of the last two Big West Championships.
• Kang also owns 34 career rounds at or below par with 10 sub-70 scores.
• This year, he finished sixth at the OC Collegiate Classic and leads the team with a 74.20 season average.
• Freshman Henry Fitzhugh has made an immediate impact, ranking third on the squad in scoring average (75.33).
• Fitzhugh had a top-20 performance competing as an individual in his collegiate debut at the OC Collegiate Classic.
• He has been part of UCI's team lineup ever since and recorded a season-best 1-over 217 at the Sac State Invite.
• Freshman Darien Zhao notched his first collegiate top-10 finish at the UCSD Invitational, tying for ninth at 224.
• Junior Matt Gunson was the conference's top freshman at the 2019 Big West Championships where he was 10th.
• The 'Eaters have three true freshmen on their roster in Fitzhugh, Zhao and Kolbe Irei.
• Fitzhugh will be playing in his sixth tournament this weekend, while Irei and Zhao are both set for their fifth outing.
• Over the summer, Ethan Han and Jonathan Kang competed in the 109th California Amateur Championship.
UP NEXT
UCI will have a couple weeks off to prepare for the Big West Championships, May 2-4, at La Quinta Country Club.
Dates: April 12-14 (Monday-Wednesday)
Location: Pasatiempo Golf Club - Santa Cruz, Calif.
Par/Yardage: Par 70 - 6,615 yards
TV: GOLF Channel
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Notes (PDF)
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team makes their way to Santa Cruz for the 74th Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club, April 12-14. It is the Anteaters' final tune-up before the Big West Championships in May.
GOLF Channel will provide live coverage of the Western Intercollegiate from 4-7 p.m. (PDT) on Monday and Tuesday, and 1-4 p.m. (PDT) on Wednesday.
TOURNAMENT INFO
The three-day tournament will be played at the par-70, 6,615-yard course at the renowned Pasatiempo Golf Club. Eighteen holes are scheduled for each day with tee times starting at 8:54 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday, and 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The Anteaters are part of a 13-team field that features six programs ranked among Golfstat.com's top-75, including No. 7 Pepperdine, No. 23 San Diego State, No. 37 Stanford, No. 43 Washington, No. 57 USC and No. 63 Oregon. Competing for UCI are Jonathan Kang, Nathan Irwin, Darien Zhao, Henry Fitzhugh, Kolbe Irei and Matt Gunson in a 6-count-5 format.
FAMILIAR GROUND
The Anteaters have competed in the Western Intercollegiate 18 times under 23rd-year head coach Paul Smolinski. Since Smolinski's first season at the helm in 1998-99, the 'Eaters have a high team finish of second (2008, 2003), and a high individual finish of third by Pete Fernandez (2014). They have been a part of each of the last 10 tournaments at Pasatiempo Golf Club, and were also scheduled to take part in the 2020 Western Intercollegiate that was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine finished 14th with a 54-hole season-best 871 at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Ariz., April 5-6. For the second tournament in a row, Nathan Irwin (71-72-74) and Darien Zhao (72-75-70) tied for the team lead as they both carded a 217 to place 39th overall. Jonathan Kang had two rounds below par and tied for 48th with a total of 218 (69-78-71).
NEWS & NOTES
• The Anteaters opened the 2021 campaign by co-hosting the OC Collegiate Classic, Feb. 8-9, at Coto de Caza.
• It marked the third year in a row they started the spring season on one of their home courses.
• It was also their first team competition in 11 months.
• Junior Nathan Irwin has led the 'Eaters in each of the last three tournaments.
• He tied for ninth at the UC San Diego Invitational and tied for 16th at the Sacramento State Invitational.
• Irwin carded a career-best 216 (E) at Sac State and enters the week with a 74.87 stroke average.
• Graduate student Jonathan Kang is back after the NCAA granted an extra year to the 2020 spring sport seniors.
• Since the start of the shortened 2019-20 campaign, Kang has registered a 73.45 average through 11 tournaments.
• He has seven career top-10 finishes including at each of the last two Big West Championships.
• Kang also owns 34 career rounds at or below par with 10 sub-70 scores.
• This year, he finished sixth at the OC Collegiate Classic and leads the team with a 74.20 season average.
• Freshman Henry Fitzhugh has made an immediate impact, ranking third on the squad in scoring average (75.33).
• Fitzhugh had a top-20 performance competing as an individual in his collegiate debut at the OC Collegiate Classic.
• He has been part of UCI's team lineup ever since and recorded a season-best 1-over 217 at the Sac State Invite.
• Freshman Darien Zhao notched his first collegiate top-10 finish at the UCSD Invitational, tying for ninth at 224.
• Junior Matt Gunson was the conference's top freshman at the 2019 Big West Championships where he was 10th.
• The 'Eaters have three true freshmen on their roster in Fitzhugh, Zhao and Kolbe Irei.
• Fitzhugh will be playing in his sixth tournament this weekend, while Irei and Zhao are both set for their fifth outing.
• Over the summer, Ethan Han and Jonathan Kang competed in the 109th California Amateur Championship.
UP NEXT
UCI will have a couple weeks off to prepare for the Big West Championships, May 2-4, at La Quinta Country Club.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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