OC Eagles surge into lead in Fujikura Invitational
VISTA, Calif. (Feb. 3, 2020) – Playing just a few miles from his hometown of Carlsbad, Oklahoma Christian senior Trevor Norby birdied three of his final four holes Monday, propelling the sixth-ranked Eagles into the lead at the Fujikura Invitational, hosted by California State-San Marcos at Shadowridge Golf Club.
Norby shot rounds of 70 and 68 and his overall score of 138 (6-under-par) gave him a four-round cushion over Steve Sugimoto of NCAA Division I San Diego State, who is playing in the tournament as an individual. Norby played a steady first round, with 16 pars and two birdies, before heating up at the end of his second round, birdieing the par-4 No. 16, the par-5 No. 17 and the par-5 No. 1 (his final hole).
That late run of birdies allowed OC – the defending champion and the highest-ranked NCAA Division II team among the tournament’s 16 squads – to edge into the team lead. After a 298 in the opening round, the Eagles posted a 1-under 287 for an overall score of 585, one shot ahead of California-San Diego. Stanislaus State (Calif.) was third at 592, with Chico State (Calif.) another shot back in fourth.
Norby wasn’t the only OC player to improve from round to round on the 7,008-yard course. Junior Andres Brictson (75-72—147) and sophomore Alejandro Armijo (76-71—147) were tied for 11th in the 87-man field. Armijo had four birdies in his second round, while Brictson had two.
OC freshman Walker LaRue (77-76—153) was tied for 40th, while freshman Said Powers (77-78—155) posted OC’s lone eagle on the day at No. 1 in the second round. Powers was tied for 51st.
The Eagles, seeking their fourth team win of the 2019-20 season, will tee off in the final round at 9:45 a.m. Central time on Tuesday, grouped with players from UC-San Diego, Stanislaus State and Chico State.