CSUN Blows Big Lead, Takes 5th in Golf Finals

Jim Bracken, Cal State Northridge’s first-year coach, couldn’t quite find the words to describe his team’s disappointing final round at the NCAA Division II men’s golf championships.

Adjectives--like national titles--were tough to come by Friday.

Pat Boyd, however, had an easy time capsulizing Northridge’s final tour of the Bull Creek Golf Course.

“We played horribly,” said Boyd, a junior who struggled to a 6-over-par 78.

CSUN’s bid for a fourth national title derailed when the team blew a six-shot lead after 54 holes with an 18-over-par 306--its worst round of the 72-hole tournament--to finish fifth at 1,185.

“It was just one of those days,” Bracken said. “I don’t know how else to explain it.”

No CSUN player managed to break 76 on the 6,800-yard course.

Four teams blew past the Matadors in the final round. The University of Tampa (1,175) shot 290 and Columbus College (1,180) shot a 1-under-par 287 to finish first and second.

CSUN’s Wayne Tyni, a sophomore who shot 76 in the final foursome of the tournament, finished fifth individually at 291.

Tony Chieffo (295), who finished 13th overall, and Gary Finneran (307) shot 76 and Tim Hogarth (298) and Boyd (308) shot 78.

Northridge--which had three juniors and two sophomores on its starting five--last won the national title in 1974. Bracken, however, didn’t want to pin the loss on the team’s relative youth.

“We have three guys with experience from last year’s tournament,” he said. “But we’ll be back. We just didn’t have it today. We just couldn’t quite pin it down this time.”