McPherson fires 69; Vaqueros post first WSC win

It was a day of firsts for the SBCC men's golf team on Monday as the Vaqueros won their first tournament of the year and Blake McPherson claimed his first medalist honor.

McPherson, a sophomore from Taft, fired a 3-under 69 at Antelope Valley Country Club in Palmdale to share the medalist award with Sidney Wolf of Canyons. The Vaqueros shot a season-best 368 (8 over par) at WSC No. 5 to beat Canyons by eight shots and Baakersfield by 12.

Felix Mory posted a 2-under 70 to tie for third as the Vaqueros moved back into second in the conference race. Canyons leads the WSC at 33-2, followed by Santa Barbara (29-6) and Ventura (27-8).

Alec Constantinides tied his season best with a 3-over 75 for the Vaqueros, who are 53-10-1 on the season.

"It was a great round for us and it started great when we first got out of the vans and saw how beautiful this course is," said coach Chuck Melendez. "We talked about Blake winning this tourney before it even started. His dad was here to watch, which gave him extra motivation."

McPherson had six birdies and an eagle on the 6,769-yard layout and Mory also had six birdies.

"I'm very proud of our effort," added Melendez. "Hopefully this will be a turnaround and get us in the winning mode."

The Vaqueros hope to make it two in a row on Monday when they play in WSC No. 6 at Santa Maria CC at 10 a.m.

WSC No. 5
At par-72 Antelope Valley CC
 Team – 1, SBCC 368. 2, Canyons 376. 3, Bakersfield 380. 4, Ventura 382. 5, Hancock 387. 6, Citrus 390. 7, Antelope Valley 392. 8, Glendale 409.
 Medalists – Blake McPherson, SBCC; Sidney Wolf, Canyons, 69.
 SBCC scores – 1 (tie), McPherson 69, 3 (tie), Felix Mory 70, Alec Constantinides 75, Jackie Chan 76, Forrest Iverson 78, Carson Curtis 79.
 WSC standings – Canyons 33-2, SBCC 29-6, Ventura 27-8, Bakersfield 15-20, Hancock 15-20, Citrus 11-24, Glendale 6-29, Antelope Valley 4-31.