UCI Prepares for UC San Diego Invitational at Torrey Pines

Monday, March 27

Torrey Pines Golf Course - La Jolla, Calif.

7:30 AM

UC Irvine

UCSD Golf Invitational

jin-nakao-mgolf-2023-ucsd-invitational-preview

Photo by: Robert Huskey

UCI Prepares for UC San Diego Invitational at Torrey Pines

March 25, 2023 | Men's Golf

Live Scoring Tournament Notes

UC San Diego Invitational
Dates: March 27-28 (Monday-Tuesday)
Location: Torrey Pines Golf Course - La Jolla, Calif.
Par/Yardage: Par 72, 7,258 yards

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team heads south to La Jolla for the UCSD Invitational, March 27-28.

The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be contested at the renowned Torrey Pines Golf Course, which was the site of the 2008 and 2021 U.S. Open Championships, and has hosted the Farmers Insurance Open annually since 1968. The UCSD Invitational is set to get underway with 36 holes on Monday, while the final 18 are slated for Tuesday. Both days will have a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start.

The Anteaters are part of a 15-team field that also includes Bucknell, California Baptist, CSUN, Florida A&M, Hawai'i, Lehigh, Oklahoma Christian, Seattle U, Southern Utah, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Utah State, Utah Tech and host UC San Diego.

UC Irvine's 5-count-4 lineup is comprised of Rei Harashima, Darien Zhao, Jin Nakao, Andy Zou and Johnny Bai.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine was last in action at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, California, March 1-3. The Anteaters, who battled through the wind and scattered showers in the first round, saw an improvement each day, finishing 14th overall with a 54-hole score of 903 (317-297-289). Darien Zhao jumped 21 spots into a tie for 32nd with a third-round 70 (-2). He closed out the tournament with a total of 222 (77-75-70). Andy Zou fired a 3-under 69 on the final day to tie for 59th at 228 (80-79-69). Rei Harashima also tied for 61st with a 229, while Jin Nakao tied for 63rd (230).

FALL RECAP
UC Irvine came in below par and finished among the top-12 in each of its four fall tournaments. The Anteaters had their best showing at the Visit Stockton Invitational where they tied for second with a season-low 16-under 836 (278-276-282). The 'Eaters recorded six sub-70 rounds at Stockton Golf & Country Club, led by Jin Nakao who bookended the tournament with a 65 and 67.

NEWS & NOTES
• This is the third year in a row UC Irvine will compete in the UCSD Invitational, but first at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
• The tournament was held at La Costa Champions Course in 2021 and 2022.
• Darien Zhao had a top-10 finish both times, coming in fourth in 2022 and tying for ninth in 2021.
• Freshman Rei Harashima, who has six sub-70 rounds, owns a team-best 72.10 scoring average.
• Harashima had his first top-10 collegiate showing at The Joust where he took third at 4-under 209 (65-73-71).
• He was also UCI's top performer at the Ka'anapali Classic and OC Collegiate Classic.
• Junior Darien Zhao is right on Harashima's heels with a 72.24 average and five rounds in the 60s.
• Zhao had his best collegiate finish at the Bill Cullum Invitational where he tied for first.
• Freshmen Jin Nakao and Andy Zou also have sub-74.00 season averages.
• Nakao, who sits at 72.90, has two of the Anteaters' best rounds of the year with a 65 and 67.
• Harashima tied Nakao with a season-best 65 in the first round of The Joust on Feb. 20.
• Nakao's and Harashima's 65 is tied for 6th in program history and is UCI's best individual 18-hole score since 2017.
• UC Irvine has a seven-member squad, marking the first time it has fewer than nine on the roster since 2011-12.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make its only out-of-state trip of the spring season when it heads to Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Washington, for the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational, April 3-4.