Leopards take 2nd at West Cup, Phanomchai finishes fifth

LA VERNE, Calif. - Pitiluk Phanomchai took fifth individually and the University of La Verne men's golf team took second at the West Cup Tuesday at Sierra La Verne Country Club.

The West Cup was stacked with some of the top golfers in NCAA Division III and featured six top-25 teams.

Phanomchai, a freshman from Thailand, had the most consistent tournament for the Leopards. He opened the tournament a two-over 73 in the first round. He followed that performance with a 74 on Monday's afternoon round and closed the tournament with a 73 to finish with an overall score of 220.

The Leopards finished with an overall score of 899, eight strokes behind No. 13 Guilford. La Verne shot a 301 on each of the first two rounds to end day one two strokes behind Guilford. The Leopards improved in the final round shooting 297, but Guilford ended round three with a tournament best 291.

Conner Davis and Henrik Skogseth tied for 18th overall with both golfers scoring 230. Skogseth improved each round carding a 79, 76, and 75. Davis shot 77, 78, 75.

Aaron DiGiamarino had the best improvement from round one to two. After opening the tournament with an 82 the senior improved by nine strokes his second time out. DiGiamarino tied four 22nd with a final score of 231.

Hisham Hussein got off to the best start for the Leopards, shooting a team-low 72 in round one. After shooting an 87 Monday afternoon, the junior recovered in the third round, shooting 74 to finish tied for 29th at 233.

La Verne's B squad finished in 13th led by Jake Littlejohn who tied for 31st at 234. Littlejohn had a fantastic final round carding a one-over 72. Justin Eller-Hughes finished one stroke back at 235.

Brandon Blum (243), Charlie Green (249), and Jason Brown (254) closed out the tournament for La Verne.

Josh Hill from Guilford won the individual title at 216.

Next Round: The Leopards get back into conference action on April 7 when they compete at SCIAC No. 2 at Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena.