MEN'S GOLF TO PLAY IN EL MACERO AND WILDHORSE CLASSICS BEGINNING SATURDAY

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento State men's golf team will end its three-week hiatus when it competes at the El Macero Classic on Apr. 10-12. The 54-hole round tournament will feature single rounds on all three days.

The El Macero Classic is one of the more familiar events for the team as Sacramento State is entered for the 21st time. The team has played in the event each year since 2014 with the exception of last year which was canceled due to COVID-19. In 2019, the team was 14th out of 15 teams after totaling 918. Jeff Carr owned the low score for the team with rounds of 80-76-72-228.

The Hornets have finished second or tied for second three times at the El Macero Classic. The first came in 1993 in a six-team field. In 1997, Sacramento State was second out of 18 teams and the team tied for second out of nine teams in 2015.

Individually, Adam Pohll was the medalist in 1997 after shooting 73-74-73-220. Bill Hurwitz tied for second in 2000 (71-73-73-217) and Taylor Knoll was second in 2015 (69-7075-214). Knoll's total is also the best 54-hole mark by a Sacramento State golfer at the event. The lowest single round was a 68 from Owen Taylor in the second round of 2014.

Along with the El Macero Classic, individuals will compete at the Wildhorse Classic during the same period.

The Hornets will be represented by Ethan Davidson, Jeff Carr, Casey Leebrick, Joe Fowler and Blaze Akana at the El Macero Classic. Riley Bell, Christian James, Jeffrey Perry, Keaton Sutherland and Jonathan Tanihana will play in the Wildhorse Classic.

The events will be the final tune-up for Sacramento State before heading to the Big Sky Conference Championships on Apr. 25-27 in Boulder City, Nev. The winning team of the Big Sky Championships will earn an automatic bid to an NCAA Regional.

The Field

Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Fresno State, Idaho, #91 Long Beach State, #83 Loyola Marymount, #55 Nevada, Pacific, Sacramento State, #78 Saint Mary's, #27 San Francisco, #94 Santa Clara, #99 UC Davis, UTRGV, #89 Washington State.

Team Notes

For the second time this season, all 10 members of the team will be in action at the same time. The previous occasion came at the Sacramento State Invitational.
Sacramento State most recently competed at the Redhawks Invitational at Chambers Bay on Mar. 29-30. The Hornets finished eighth out of 15 teams with a total of 290-283-307. The team had a different low scorer in each of the three rounds. Ethan Davidson shot 70 in the first round and Joe Fowler followed with a round of 68 in the afternoon. On Tuesday, Casey Leebrick and Jonathan Tanihana each shot 75. Overall, Davidson tied for 15th at 70-69-76-215 to tie for 15th place and lead the team. The tournament featured a unique format which had the first two rounds as par 71 and the third round at 72.
The Hornets feature four golfers who are averaging 74.00 or better this season. Davidson leads the way with an average of 72.33 in 15 rounds. Fowler is second on the team at 73.33 over 12 rounds. Akana, who with Davidson are the only players to be in the lineup in every tournament this year, averages 73.93 to rank third. Jeffrey Perry averages 74.00 in just three rounds.
Akana had his streak of 14 consecutive rounds in the 70s snapped after he shot 81 in the final round of the Redhawks Invitational. The true freshman has a low of 70 in the final round of the Sacramento State Invitational and has six rounds of 72 or better this year.
Riley Bell will return to action for the first time since the GCU Invitational on Mar. 13-14. Bell has been in the lineup in two events this year and also competed as an indvidiual at the Sacramento State Invitational. He has a low of 70 in the third round of the Pizza Hut Pat Hicks Invitational and is averaging 74.22 in nine rounds.
Jeff Carr will play as an individual for the first time this year. Carr's lone appearance came in the lineup at the Sacramento State Invitational where he shot 77-80-79-236. He is currently seven rounds shy of cracking the top 10 in school history for career rounds played.
Davidson is currently ranked fifth in school history with a career scoring average of 73.69. His 69 in the second round at the Redhawks Invitational gave him six career rounds in the 60s which ties him for 10th in the Hornet record book. He is also tied for 10th with 25 career rounds at or below par. Davidson's current scoring average of 72.33 would rank fourth in school single-season history.
Fowler is one spot back of Davidson on the career scoring average list at Sacramento State as he owns an average of 73.75 which ranks sixth. After not playing in the first tournament of the year, he has been in the lineup for the last four. He has five rounds of 72 or better this season, including a two rounds in the 60s.
Christian James will compete as an individual at the Wildhorse Classic. His only other appearance in 2021 came at the Sacramento State Invitational where he shot 76-81-76-233.
Casey Leebrick has been in the lineup in four of the five previous tournaments this season where he is averaging 74.17. Leebrick's season low came in his first round of the year where he shot 70 at the Pizza Hut Pat Hicks Invitational.
Jeffrey Perry will be making his second appearance as a Hornet. He shot 78-69-75-222 as an individual at the Sacramento State Invitational. Last year, he was an honorable mention NCAA Div. III All-American at Cal Lutheran where he averaged 73.07 and had four top-10 finishes.
Keaton Sutherland will also be competing for the second time in his collegiate career. Sutherland, who redshirted in 2019-20, played as an individual at the Sacramento State Open where he shot 78-75-76-229.
Jonathan Tanihana has appeared in all five events this year, including four in the lineup. His average of 74.13 is a half-stroke better than his mark of 74.67 last season (also in 15 rounds). Tanihana has a pair of top-15 finishes as he tied for 13th at the Pizza Hut Pat Hicks Invitational as well as the Sacramento State Invitational. His lowest single round this year was a 67 in the second round of the Sacramento State Invitational.