The Palomar College men's golf team got off to a great start to the 2019 season with a second place finish at the Point Conception Invitational at La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc, CA, on Sunday and Monday. The Comets are looking to defend a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference co-championship from a season ago.
Palomar College and College of the Desert tied for the PCAC title in 2018 and if the first two rounds of the season are any indication, the Comets will be tough to beat in 2019. Palomar finished one shot off the lead set by Santa Barbara City College in the opening tournament of the season, firing a two-day total of 763. Palomar trailed the Vaqueros by three shots heading into the final day and made a run before finishing one shot off the lead. Palomar finished in front of three teams that finished in the top eight at the state finals last season, defeating 2018 state champion Cypress College by eight shots.
College of the Desert did not report a team score on Monday and therefore did not place in the top 12 at the event. The Roadrunners were in eighth place heading into the final day, but did not have enough players on Monday to post a team score.
One other program from the PCAC was in attendance for the opening tournament in Mt. San Jacinto College. The Eagles finished 10th after a two-day total of 823.
Palomar's Kyoshiro Azumada (pictured) had a sensational two days at La Purisima, shooting 74-72 to tie for medalist honors with Cypress' Dalton Davenport. Palomar had two other top-10 finishes in medalist play, with Zach Brown finishing fifth (73-75) and Richard Jeppesen finishing 10th (77-76).
Pacific Coast Athletic Conference play will begin on March 7 at Los Verdes Golf Course in Palos Verdes.