SEASIDE, Calif. — Cal State Monterey Bay played its best when it counted the most. Led by individual champion Matthew Hedges (Ashland [Ore.] HS) and runner–up Elis Svard (Sodertalje, Sweden), the Otters caught fire down the stretch to win the CCAA Men's Golf Championship Wednesday at Bayonet–Black Horse.

The Otters claimed their fourth CCAA Men's Golf Championship and their first since 2013. Hedges, meanwhile, parred his final three holes to complete a 2–stroke victory over Svard, his teammate and the defending CCAA medalist.

"There's no special sauce, no magic words. You're just trying to get the guys to do what they do," said CSUMB Head Coach Jason Owen. 

With scores of 291, 292 and 288 (7–over 871), the Otters posted a 4–stroke victory over No. 11 Sonoma State. Hedges went 69, 72, 68 (7–under 209). He earned his title by two strokes over Svard, who was the only golfer in the 45–player field to card three rounds in the red (69, 71, 71).

CSUMB made the turn Wednesday trailing Sonoma State by two strokes. 

That's when the magic begin as Otter golfers carded seven birdies on the Black Horse back nine. That allowed CSUMB to jump back over the Seawolves en route to a 4–stroke victory.

The real race over the final few holes was between Hedges and Svard, the 36–hole leader. The Otter duo was tied at 6–under when Hedges birdied the par–3 15th to take a one stroke lead. He then parred out while Svard played his final four holes 1–over.

"I had this week circled on my calendar ever since I found out the (CCAA) tournament was going to be on Black Horse," said Hedges. "I had a lot of emotions going into the week and I had to make sure those were in check."

Hedges became the seventh Otter to win a CCAA Golf Championship in the school's 12 years of conference play. He joins Svard (2018), Brandon Hortt (2013), Alex Sobstad (2012), Scott Yeakel (2011), John Jackson (2010) and Ricky Stockton (2009) in that select group.

But this win had extra significance for the Otter senior, who, despite several amateur tournament victories, had yet to win a collegiate event.

"This was a huge monkey off my back," said Hedges of Wednesday's victory. "One of the reasons I redshirted last year was because I wanted this opportunity and the chance to win a collegiate tournament."

CSUMB, which entered the CCAA Championship ranked No. 18 in the latest GolfStat NCAA Division II rankings, beat five ranked teams on its way to the title. In addition to No. 11 Sonoma, the Otters outpaced No. 30 Cal State East Bay (879), and No. 5 Chico State (882).

Junior Brian Whitson (Advance, Mo./Logan College) recorded three birdies as part of his 72 that gave CSUMB its third score Wednesday. Freshman Hayata Utsunomiya (Osaka, Japan) rallied to close his round with nine consecutive pars, providing the Otters their final scoring round of 77.

Although he finished two strokes shy of repeating as CCAA Medalist, Svard earned a significant honor of his own when he was named the CCAA Champion Scholar, the award given to the student–athlete amongst all team at the tournament with the highest grade point average. Svard carries a 3.88 GPA as a business administration major.

Next up for the Otters will be the NCAA Regional Championship at The Ledges Golf Club in St. George, Utah. The top four team finishers at that tournament will advance to the NCAA National Championship Tournament May 20–24 in Daniels, W.Va.