The men's golf team got off to a rough start on the par 71-links of San Joaquin Community College at the Fresno State Classic and finished in 15th place. It was the first time this season the team has finished out of the top 10.

The Wildcats shot a three-round, 67-over-par 1,132. After a first round score of 380, the team improved in the second scoring a 373. However, the team fell back after a third round score of 379. They finished three strokes ahead of San Jose State and four strokes behind University of Nevada.

"The place finish was disappointing," said head coach Tim Norris. "For a first event out, there are a lot of things we can work on, like club selection, to get us through each round."

Seniors Joe Ida and Mitchell Gregson were the top two individual scorers for K-State. Ida finished with a 3-over-par 216, while Gregson had a 7-over-par 220. Each of them put together four birdies in the second round.

Senior Joe Kinney had his worst outing of the year scoring a 14-over-par 227 leaving him tied for 61st. Freshman Curtis Yonke tied for 80th with a 19-over-par 232, while junior Jason Schulte struggled and had seven double bogeys in the tournament to score a 27-over-par 240. Freshman Ben Juffer chipped in a 29-over-par 242, which left him tied for 98th. He had six straight bogeys to finish the third round.

Norris said the team fought hard throughout the tournament, but couldn't come together as a whole.

"I know our guys put forth a good effort but at this level of competition you need a lot more effort," Norris said. "Ida had a good tournament and Kinney had a good round where he birdied his last couple holes."

Norris said Gregson had an off tournament but was still in the top 25 percent of the field.

BYU won the tournament on a playoff hole against No. 24 San Diego. Both teams finished with a 20-over-par 1,085, while Washington was 22-over par for a 1,087. Third-ranked Oregon finished in fourth, scoring a 23-over-par 1,088, while host school Fresno State scored a 44-over-par 1,109 and finished in eighth. Pepperdine started off strong early in the first round but finished the tournament in ninth scoring a 29-over-par 1094.

The Cougar's Robbie Fillmore recorded a birdie defeating UC-Irvine's John Chin to separate their 5-under-par 208 score.

Norris said the team is eager to get back into rhythm the next time out.

"Our guys are motivated to improve and now we have a good starting point for the spring season," Norris said. "I know they're looking forward to going to Arizona and stepping it up a little bit."

The team will be back in action next week to play in the Desert Shootout. It will take place at Palm Valley Golf Course in Goodyear, Ariz. on March 18-20.