Vaqs place fourth in invite

GLENDALE — The members of the Glendale Community College men’s golf team had to battle two uncertainties Monday while competing in the seven-team Southern California Invitational at La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc.

First, the Vaqueros had to brave the elements from the windy and chilly weather conditions. Add to the mix that they had to figure out a course that none of them had ever played.

Therefore, Glendale college Coach Greg Osbourne didn’t take too much stock into what transpired after the Vaqueros shot a 424 to finish fourth.

“It’s a very difficult course and one that we weren’t familiar with,” Osbourne said. “We had no idea how tough this course was going to be, but we will get better as the season moves along.

“I know there are a lot of qualifiers here. The next time we play it, we should all drop our scores by at least five strokes.”

Glendale’s Chris Ramirez placed fourth with a six-over-par 78. Peter Prescott of Long Beach City College, which won the event with a 398, carded a 72 to take medalist accolades. The Vaqueros received an 85 from Brennan Amirkhizi, an 86 from Aaron Fernandez and Phillip Gonzales and an 89 from Jin Park.

“Chris has been putting it together during his last two rounds,” Osbourne said. “The guys are learning that the situations are a lot different playing at the college level and on much harder courses.

“After next week, we play five [Western State Conference] matches in a row. We are prepared now for what we have coming up. These conference matches will make or break our season as we try to qualify for the Southern California Regionals.”

Ventura placed second with a 410, followed by Citrus with a 412. Santa Barbara was fifth (431), followed by El Camino (444) and Victor Valley (447).