The Long Beach State men’s golf team traveled to the East Coast last Tuesday for the 14th annual Adams Cup of Newport/Cleveland Golf Classic in Newport, R.I. The two-day event took place at the Orchard Course at the Newport National Golf Club and featured 15 teams.
LBSU placed 10th overall after three rounds, consisting of 18 holes each. This was the 49ers’ first appearance in the tournament.
The tournament featured sophomores Michael Drake and Karl Katnik. Head coach Bob Livingstone was particularly impressed by Katnik’s performance. Katnik moved up in the standings from 11th place after the first day. He tied for seventh after shooting a two-over 74 in the final round with a score of 223 (74-75-76).
“Karl Katnik had his best ever college event, finishing seventh, his first career in the top-10,” Livingstone said.
Freshmen Ricky Montanez, Issei Suenaga and Eric Pitcaithley participated as well. This was Pitcaithley’s first collegiate tournament appearance. He tied for 30th, shooting 230 (73-75-74). Montanez completed the tournament in a tie for 53rd with a score of 238 (77-80-81), and Suenaga tied for 73rd.
Livingstone said he was pleased with the team after the event, despite a few mishaps with the flight schedule. Livingstone said his main concern about the trip east was the time difference.
“We had over an eight-hour delay at LAX, and didn’t get into our hotel until after three o’clock in the morning,” Livingstone said. “So we were kind of discombobulated during the practice round.”
Things began to look up for the team, which was in second place after the first round. The team struggled against the wind during its second round, which caused a few problems.
“I don’t think we were tired, we just made some mistakes that kind of snowballed,” Livingstone said. “The good thing there is that these young guys can learn from what they did in the high rounds and get better.”
Sophomore Michael Drake said he was disappointed in his performance in the tournament. He finished tied for 36th place with a 232 (73-81-78).
The team, however, remained “upbeat” and optimistic about the rest of the season and said the problem seems to be consistency. Livingstone saw it as a good sign that the team improved after the second round.
The 49ers will next travel to Reno, Nev., for the Nevada Wolf Pack Classic on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9.
