Oct. 23, 2009

Long Beach, California - Behind strong play from freshman Ben Bauch in his first-ever collegiate tournament the Pacific golf team captured eighth place at the Del Walker Invitational Friday afternoon, finishing at +11 for the 54-hole tournament.

Bauch's three-under 67 during the second round, combined with two even-par 70's at the 100-year old course kept the Tigers on track and near the middle of the pack the entire tournament and shot him into the record books with the fifth lowest tournament score in history at 207.

Playing partner and teammate Danny Garcia also made a major contribution for the Tigers, shooting a 2-under 68 during the final round to shoot one-under for the tournament. His 209 marked the 13th best individual total in Pacific golf history. He would finish 21st while Bauch collected 13th.

Playing in the unique, "play six, count five" format, the Tigers got contribution from Bauch and Garcia as well as junior Alex Johnson who opened with a 68 and then a one-over 73 and even par 70. Captains TJ Bordeaux and Patrick Kucich finished a +6 and +8 respectively. Pacific jumped to seventh place early on Friday but slipped back to eighth after UC Irvine made key birdies down the stretch.