The competition at the Saint Mary’s Invitational was fierce this week, and even though the Washington State men’s golf team started in good form, the Cougs gave up a lot of ground in the final two days of the tournament.

The Cougars finished 11th out of the 15 teams in play after shooting a 17-over par (301) in the final round of play. WSU may not have finished the way it had hoped, nor maintained its 3rd place standing after Round 1, but Head Coach Garrett Clegg said the tournament was a valuable experience for his team.

“We learned a lot from the week and will be better prepared for our next event,” said Clegg. “We will get things sorted out and make the necessary changes and be ready to play next week.”

In the fall season-opener for most of the teams, the competition was stiff, featuring schools from as far east as New York’s St. John’s and some of the west coast’s stronger programs.

San Diego State captured the team title with a final score of 1-under par (851). Fellow Pac-12 schools Oregon State (+15, 867) and Arizona (+31, 883) finished in third and eighth, respectively. The Cougars (+43, 895) placed three strokes in front of rival Gonzaga, who finished 12th.

Sophomore Derek Bayley was the lowest scoring individual for WSU, finishing the tournament in a tie for 23rd with a final score of 219 (+6). Bayley shot 3-under (68) in his first round, but closed out the tournament with a 5-over (76). Gonzaga senior Sean Walsh won the tournament after finishing 5-under (208).

Senior Evan Omelia carded four of the 10 Cougar birdies in the final round, finishing the day at 5-over (76) and in a tie for 38th (+11, 224). Omelia shot 2-over (73) in Round 1 and was four-over (75) in Round 2.

Freshman Aaron Whalen finished his first collegiate tournament with an even par (71) performance to climb from 72nd in the standings after Day 1, up to a tie for 46th (+13, 226) to conclude play.

“It was great to see Aaron play better today,” Clegg said.

For the second time in three days, sophomore Zach Anderson improbably eagled on the front nine and finished the tournament tied for 59th (+16, 229) after shooting 8-over (79) in Round 3. Junior Nick Mandell tied for 67th at 18-over (231).

The Cougars return to Washington next week for a tussle with rival Washington at the Husky Classic in Cle Elum, Sept. 21-22. WSU will host the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate tournament at Palouse Ridge Golf Course next weekend.

Reporting by Braden Johnson