COD Men’s Golf wins PCAC title and Coach of the Year honors

College of the Desert Men's Golf had a dramatic final day to the regular season on Monday, April 24th as they not only won the PCAC Championship, but also took home Coach of the Year honors. 

The Roadrunners found themselves behind 1st round leader Mt. San Jacinto by 12 strokes and turned the whole event upside-down, going into the second half of a 36-hole marathon Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Championship at El Camino Country Club in Oceanside. This was the first season for College of the Desert in the PCAC and three Roadrunners were named to the All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference team.

First Year Men's Golf Coach Andrew Perez earned Coach of the Year honors. He was ecstatic about the team's performance and remarkable turnaround at the Conference Finals. 

Coach Perez, in reacting to winning the award, "Very surprising, it's an honor, I'm very proud of my players." When talking to his players between round one and round two, "we were down 12-strokes and when you're down that much, you have to compartmentalize your efforts, it's all about grabbing small advantages to turn the corner towards victory, I told them, 'The most important shot is the next shot.' About midway through the second round, you could see the team gaining momentum and it was truly unbelievable." 

In the first 18 holes, freshman Steven Wang (Taipei, Taiwan) shot the best round of the year for the Roadrunners, tying a 2017 Desert individual record, shooting a two-under 70 and winning a medal. 

Unfortunately, disaster struck when freshman Sam Berglund (Melbourne, Australia) signed the wrong scorecard and was disqualified, putting the Roadrunners 12 strokes back going into the second set of 18. 

With their backs against the wall, the Roadrunners came out swinging, as the team went from 12 strokes back to five strokes ahead and, when the dust settled, COD was named PCAC Champions. 

Sophomore Nicolas Beeken (Liège, Belgium) shot his worst round of the year in the first round, a 17-over 89, then amazingly dropped 10 strokes off his second round effort to shoot a 79 and was named to the All-Conference team. Freshman Gauthier Adams (Liège, Belgium) put up an 80 in the first round and then shot the best second round of all of the Roadrunners, shooting a three-over 75 and was named to the All-Conference team. 

Berglund came back from being disqualified in the first round to shooting a very strong five-over 77 in the second round. Freshman Tyler Smith (Palm Desert H.S.) was consistent throughout both rounds, shooting an 8-over 80 in both rounds. Freshman Matt Schmitt (Brawley H.S.) fell just short of being named Conference MVP, but was added to the All-Conference team with a two-over 74 in the first round and a six-over 78 in the second round. 

Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.