Otters Move Up To Seventh Place Finish At Nighthawk Invite

Hayata Utsunomiya leads the way with his second consecutive Top 10 finish

March 08, 2022

By: Kevin Gilmore (@OtterKevin)

TEAM LEADERBOARD | PLAYER LEADERBOARD

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Cal State Monterey Bay men's golf recorded an aggregate 297 Tuesday to move up to a seventh place finish at the Nighthawk Invitational at Poppy Ridge Golf Course.

CSUMB trimmed 11 strokes from its first round score to finish 9–over for the day and plus–29 for the event. Cal State East Bay took the team title at 583 (+7).

Hayata Utsunomiya (Osaka, Japan) carded an eagle and four birdies as part of his team low round of 71 Tuesday. That helped the sophomore earn his second consecutive Top 10 finish.

Freshmen Simon Björken (Hudiksval, Sweden) and Jack Deaner (Carmichael/Jesuit HS) caught fire late to help the cause. Björken recorded two birdies and an eagle over the last five holes while Deaner added two birds over the final four holes to each finish at 2–over 74.

Freshman Tommy Kimberling (Rancho Cucamonga/Los Osos HS) added CSUMB's final scoring round with a 78.

In addition to Utsunomiya's ninth place finish, Björken and Deaner both earned spots in the top half of the 88–player field, finishing in 22nd and 30th respectively.

"From a team perspective we are seeing some bright spots, but we are also missing Kyle Kuest so badly," says CSUMB Head Coach Jason Owen. "Hayata has stepped up the last few weeks and carried the team, I'm so happy with him."

The Otters will jump right back into action in the East Bay area again next week when they participate in the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout Mar. 14–15 at the Corica Park South Course in Alameda.

GO OTTERS!

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