Easterling Earns First Top 5 Finish In Hawaii

Otter freshman leads team at Punahele Jerky Company Invite

October 27, 2026

By: Kevin Gilmore (@OtterKevin)

LEADERBOARDS | TEAM-BY-TEAM

KOHALA COAST, Hawaii — Freshman Zach Easterling (Clovis West HS) earned his first Top 5 finish as a collegiate golfer, leading Cal State Monterey Bay to a ninth-place finish at the Punahele Jerky Company Invitational Tuesday at the Mauna Lani Resort Golf Course.

Easterling finished a personal collegiate-best 7-under 209 for the 54-hole event, including a collegiate-best 5-under in Tuesday's closing round. His previous low round as an Otter was a 3-under at the Wildcat Classic in September.

Joining Easterling in the top half of the 76-golfer field was sophomore Ben Christian (Dexter [Mo.] Senior HS), who place 33rd overall at plus-3 219. Senior Derek Lekkerkerk (Twin Falls [Id.] HS) shot a 1-under Tuesday and finished the tournament at 8-over. Fellow senior Alex Cooke (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) carded CSUMB's final scoring round with a 3-over 75.

As a team, the No. 29 Otter placed ninth overall at 4-over for the tournament. No. 18 Cal State San Bernardino took top honors, followed by host Hawaii-Hilo and CCAA rival Menlo College.

The Otters will take Wednesday off before returning to action Thursday at the HPU Shark Shootout in Honolulu.

GO OTTERS!

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