Vaqs come up empty
Mathias Dahl and Richie Maloof each put together one solid round Monday at the California Community College Athletic Assn. Men’s Golf Championship. Unfortunately for the Glendale Community College men’s golfers, it wasn’t accomplished twice.
Though Dahl and Maloof qualified for the event, they both agreed they had mixed results in what was their final appearances with the Vaqueros.
Dahl finished tied for ninth with a two-round score of 145 and Maloof finished tied for 14th with a 147 at Santa Maria Country Club.
Dahl, who will attend the University of San Diego in the fall, recorded a four-under-par 68 on the first round before finishing with a 77 in the second round. Maloof, a St. Francis High graduate who will transfer to USC, started with a 77 before regrouping with a 70.
“I got off to a great start in the first round,” said Dahl, who helped the Vaqueros place second in the Western State Conference and third in the Southern California Regionals. “After the first four holes, I started to struggle and I got a little tired.
“I lost my focus in the second round and I hit some bad shots. I just wish I could have kept it all together.”
Dahl, a native of Sweden, opened the first round with an eagle on the par-5 first hole. He then registered a birdie on the second hole, followed by a par on the third and birdie on the fourth.
“On the eagle, I hit a great drive straight down the middle,” said Dahl, who entered the final round in second place and two strokes behind Andy Stanfield of Ventura. “Then I had an excellent chip shot to make eagle.”
Dahl completed his two rounds with five birdies, 20 pars, 10 bogeys and one eagle on the 6,386-yard course.
Maloof said he struggled throughout his first round, but was able to regroup over the final 18 holes.
“I had nothing to lose going into the last round,” Maloof said. “I applied some pressure to myself and I was able to put it all together.
“I was pretty disappointed with my first round and knew I could do better. In the second round, I hit the ball better and got up and down the course when I had to. It’s a big learning experience and I learned a lot.”
Maloof recorded seven birdies, 17 pars and 12 bogeys.
Glendale Coach Greg Osbourne, who guided the program to its first state appearance last season in Hanford, said Dahl and Maloof had a difficult time putting two solid rounds together.
“Mathias just couldn’t putt well in the second round,” Osbourne said. “After his first round, I thought he could keep it together.
“Richie struggled in the first round, but then had a very good finish. I would have liked to have had a state champion, but it just didn’t happen.”
Austin Grey of College of the Desert finished with a 139 to win the state individual tournament. Grey also helped Desert win the team crown as it recorded a 729 and bested College of the Canyons in a card-off.
Derek Larson of Canyons and Stanfield each had 142s.
Santa Rosa took third in the team competition with a 736. Chabot, finished fourth (749) after winning the state championship last season.
