Briggs guides Gauchos to 5th

The Saddleback golf team finished in fifth place at the Orange Empire Conference Finals on Monday at Los Serranos Golf Course in Chino Hills.  Austin Briggs led the way for Saddleback, qualifying for individual play at the Southern California Regional Finals next Monday.

Saddleback had a solid opening round on the 6,698-yard North Course in the morning, finishing one shot out of third place with a team total of 383.  The Gauchos weren't quite as fortunate in the afternoon on the longer 7,628-yard South Course, shooting 395 and falling into fifth place and one shot out of fourth.

Briggs was tremendous, firing a 2-under-par round of 70 (par 72) in the morning to finish second in individual medal play.  He was 1-over-par with a round of 75 (par 74) in the afternoon for a -1 total to finish in a tie for second place over the 36 holes.  He finished five shots back of Riverside's Everett Najera, who shot -6 for the day.

The solid finish to the season moved Briggs up four spots into sixth place overall in the conference and qualified him for the Southern California Regional Finals next Monday at El Camino Country Club in Oceanside.  In addition, Briggs earned All-Orange Empire Conference status for finishing in the top-10 for the year.   He had a 74.2 scoring average during the season with a season-low round of 70 on Monday.

Chris Reck had the second best finish on the day for Saddleback, shooting rounds of 79 and 78 to finish in a tie for 17th place.  Kirk Edmondson finished in a tie for 19th place with rounds of 80 and 78.

Saddleback finished the season in fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference.