FRESNO, Calif. - Despite a rocky start with bogeys on two of his first five holes, sensational sophomore Bhavik Patel posted six birdies over his final 13 holes, including on No. 18, to blow away the competition the Fourth Annual University of San Diego Callaway Invitational. The tournament was played at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
The Bulldogs finished in third place as a team after shooting a round of 294 Tuesday. San Diego won the tournament with a three-round total of 862, three shots better than No. 25 SMU. The Dogs finished three strokes better than UC Irvine. It was the second straight week the Dogs finished in third place and it was the fourth Top-5 team finish for the season.
Patel now has two second-place finishes to go with a tournament title this season. He also has an 8th-place finish from the Cal MacKenzie Invitational in the fall. He shot 69-70-69--208, beating Alex Ching of USD by three strokes. Patel reached the semifinal round of the 2009 United State's Amateur Championships last summer in Tulsa, Okla.
To demonstrate the toughness of the course, only five players in the 72-man field finished under par. This course will serve as the host for the 2011 NCAA West Regional Championships.
Senior Grant Doverspike started the day tied for fourth place at 2-under par, but posted a 79 and dropped to a tie for 17th.
"This is a tough course and we saw it today," said head coach Mike Watney. "It can reach up and grab you and that almost happened to Bhavik early on and it happened to Grant. Grant's a very good golfer and that doesn't happen to him very often. I can't say enough about Bhavik's performance. He's just a special player. To post a score like that on this course is just amazing. Overall, we didn't play that badly but certainly not like we are capable."
Bryan Hogan shot 75 for the third straight day to finish tied for 26th and Adam Barkow shot his best round with a 1-over par 73 on Tuesday to move up to 31st place. Michael Gideon had a 77 in his final round and tied for 43rd place overall.
"Having two top-three finishes to start the spring is pretty good," said Watney. "We have the ability to be a very, very good team. Right now we are playing like a good team, but there's more to our game and we know that. This is a good start but we aren't satisfied yet. We will need to hit the books when we get back and the guys need a break before we hit the road again next week."