MONTEREY, Calif. – Dominican men's golf climbed from fifth place into the tournament lead behind a strong second round before ultimately finishing third Tuesday at the RCA Electric Invitational at Pasadera.
Stanislaus State captured the team championship at 17 over, using a 2-under 278 in the final round to finish six strokes ahead of runner-up Menlo at 23 over. Dominican was three strokes behind Menlo at 26 over after rounds of 291, 284 and 291. The Penguins finished ahead of PacWest opponents Chaminade, Jessup and Westmont in the 10-team field.
Dominican sat fifth after its opening 291 before making its move Monday afternoon. The Penguins combined for a 4-over 284 in the second round, the second-lowest team round of the day, to vault into first place through 36 holes.
Joseph Berggren provided the spark with a 3-under 67, the lowest round of the event for the Penguins. Berggren's second round featured six birdies. He opened with consecutive birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 and reached the turn at 2 under after another birdie on the par-5 seventh. He added a birdie at No. 13 before making back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, helping Dominican seize the tournament lead. Berggren finished tied for 50th at 22 over.
Stack was Dominican's top finisher, tying for 11th at 6 over after rounds of 72, 71 and 73. He did much of his work on the opening nine of the second round, making four birdies to reach the turn at 2 under. Stack remained among the tournament leaders through the final round to secure his second top-20 finish in the Penguins' last three tournaments.
Sorci joined Stack near the top of the leaderboard through most of the three rounds. He began with consecutive 1-over 71s, closing his opening round with a birdie on No. 18 before playing all nine holes on the back side at even par in Round 2. Sorci also finished the tournament strong, making consecutive birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 before a par on his final hole of the tournament, finishing tied for 17th at 8 over.
Jerred Scott saved his best round for last, firing a 1-under 69 to climb into a tie for 20th at 9 over. After making the turn at 1 over, Scott birdied the par-4 12th and 13th on consecutive holes. He then made five straight pars to finish the back nine in 2-under 33 and close his tournament with Dominican's best final-round score. Mikael Khursheed posted rounds of 73, 76 and 73. His opening round included one of Dominican's strongest closing stretches as he played the back nine in 1-under 34, highlighted by consecutive birdies at Nos. 14 and 15. Khursheed closed the final round with five straight pars and tied for 26th at 12 over after.
Dominican also had
Jack Gladys and
Owen Wackman competing as individuals. Gladys finished 47th at 21 over after rounds of 73, 82 and 76. Wackman improved each time around the course, following rounds of 82 and 81 with a 77 on Tuesday. He played his final back nine in 1 over to finish tied for 60th at 30 over.
Dominican closes its fall schedule at the CSUMB Otter Invitational teeing off Monday at Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside.
