SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University Men's Golf recorded an overwhelming comeback for the program's fourth consecutive Alamo City Classic championship in Tuesday's third and final round, erasing a five-shot deficit that faced it at the beginning of the day.
Day One Recap
The Tigers posted a 273 (-11), 10 shots better than any other team round recorded in the 2022 Alamo Classic, that featured torrid rounds from sophomore Jacob Mason (Westminster, Colo. / Holy Family) and first-year Neel Sandhu (Southlake, Texas / Carroll), at 65 (-6) and 67 (-4), respectively.
Mason's herculean effort launched the second-year Tiger up six places on the individual leaderboard to force a playoff for the Alamo City Classic individual championship, but fell in the first playoff hole on the par-4 10th. Mason's third round featured seven birdies in total as he went four-under on the back nine, which was split by his 13th-hole starting position.
Sandhu elevated 10 spots into a tie for eighth overall thanks to his four-under mark. After four pars to open his round from the 15th tee, the Trinity rookie responded to his first bogey with three-straight birds in holes two through four, then earned the Tigers' second eagle of the tournament, on the par-five fifth, which led to a four-under pace on the front nine.
Senior Daniel Nunez (Los Angeles, Calif. / Loyola) completed the Tiger trio in the top-10 as his even third round left him at one-over (214) for the tournament in the 10th spot. Nunez was the fourth counted card for the victorious men's unit with 12 pars, and three birdies all on par-fours—the fourth, sixth and 11th pins.
Junior Giorgio Gianoulis (Salt Lake City, Utah / Rowland Hall) completed the four-card team score with a one-under 70 that rallied him into a tie for 17th overall, up eight spots from his starting position Tuesday morning. The junior got the day off on the right foot with a birdie from his starting hole, the par-five 15th, then birdied the second and 13th, both par-fours, before the round was over.
Trinity's second team entry was led by junior Jack McKay (Spring, Texas / Klein Oak) as the final Tiger to finish in the top-20, tied for the 14th spot at 217 (+4) as he logged a second one-over 72 for the week on Tuesday. After seven holes on an even pace, McKay found trouble on the fifth with a double, followed by a bogey on the par-four sixth. The junior chipped away with four birdies, three on par-fours, to return to his one-over finish.
In a strong recovery from his second round in Monday's action, sophomore Luke Chuha (San Antonio, Texas / Cornerstone) joined Mason, Sandhu and Nunez as the Trinity four to card at or below par for the third round. Chuha matched Nunez's even round as he logged 14 pars, 10 consecutively including the entire front nine, and birdies on the 11th and 15th.
Coach Speak
"What an amazing performance today by this team," Head Coach Sean Etheredge elated. "It was just so much fun to watch them fight back up the leaderboard and then create a little separation at the end."
"I'm so proud of both of our squads this week; really looking forward to the Dallas event up next."
All-Alamo City Classic
The following competitors were named to the 2022 Alamo City Classic All-Tournament team:
William Sammons, UMHB
Jacob Mason, Trinity
Christian Rodriguez, Southwestern
Zhao Yung Gu, Schreiner
Jackson Lehner, Dallas
Karsten Paciotti, Dallas
Nicholas Hoisington, Southwestern
Up Next
Trinity Men's Golf will take a week to recover before travelling across the Red River to Thackerville, Oklahoma, home to the Winstar Resort and the Crusader Invitational, hosted by University of Dallas. The northbound trip will conclude the fall slate for the men.
