TAFT, CA - On Wednesday, February 28, the Taft College Cougars Men's Golf hosted the second conference match of the season at Buena Vista Golf Course. After coming off a 2-week break, the Cougars were more than excited to compete again, especially at their home course. It turned out to be a beautiful day to golf with temperatures never dropping below 70°. The men had an excellent warm up before teeing off against Reedley, Fresno City, and San Jose.
"The team had a great atmosphere as I was driving around to them on the course. Every single one of them was smiling. You could just tell they were dialed in on every single shot," said Taft College Head Men's Golf Coach Brandi Borjon.
Sophomore Randon Reeder was able to eagle his second hole of the day on a par 5 with an 8-foot eagle putt. "That was my first collegiate eagle in a tournament! It was pretty exciting," said Reeder. Sophomore Kaleb Dickey also chipped in for birdie on his second hole of the day.
On the other hand, we had Sophomore Evan Sidhu career his record round with a low round of 73. Sidhu's 1-over par (73) was able to secure him a 3rd place finish out of 24 guys in the tournament. "It was great. I felt like I couldn't miss a shot out there. I'm happy I was able to help my team and contribute to a 3rd place finish. This is just the start," says Sidhu.
Overall, as a team, the Cougars were able to put together a team score of 397, taking a third place finish in the tournament. The Cougars were just 8 strokes shy of a second place finish. This is the lowest score the team has had in the past 3 years. A team score of 397 means the team averaged about 79.4. "Our goal as a team has been to below 400. I'm so proud we were able to do it in our second conference tournament. These men have grit and I can't wait to see how they come together the rest of season. Now they know what it feels like, and I'm excited to set new records in the future," said Borjon.
After placing 3rd and having a new season record, the guys are ready to keep pushing themselves to improve their scores before the next match. The next match will be on March 11 at Eagle Ridge in Gilroy, CA.