It has been a long two months of waiting but the Chaminade University men's golf team finally gets to hit the links for real.
The Silverswords will get to see how productive the last eight weeks of practices have been when they open their championship season Monday in the Notre Dame de Namur Invitational at the Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, Calif.
It is a senior-laden class with
Jeren Nishimoto (Honolulu/Kaiser) and
Desmond Mello (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Hawai'i-Manoa/Moanalua HS) leading the way. Nishimoto is the only golfer remaining from the 2017 team which finished tied for sixth in the Pacific West Conference Championships, the highest-ever finish.
Nishimoto, the program's career leader in birdies (112) and whose 78.13 scoring average is the fourth-lowest in program history, hopes to make one more splash, before he wraps up his career. Although his scoring average is down nearly a shot per round through the non-championship fall season (78.20 from 77.44 last season), the senior is hoping to perform well enough to build momentum in the conference championships.
Like Nishimoto, fellow senior Mello started the fall season slow but with several tournaments coming up over the next month, has a chance to lower his average in time for the PacWest Championships. In last year's conference championships in Litchfield Park, Ariz., Mello was just two shots off the lead for the individual championship heading into the final round before 6-over-par dashed those hopes.
Meanwhile junior Colby Gundersen (Kaneohe, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Castle) is enjoying a breakout year. After a career average of over 80 per round, he has posted a 78.80 fall average, third-best on the team.
Freshman
Schuyler Peterson (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei) is actually the 'Swords' lowest scorer through the fall with a 76.80 average. He enjoyed two top-six finishes in both dual matches against Hawai'i Pacific in the fall and had the team's lowest score at the 54-hole Dennis Rose Invitational at the Waikaloa Kings' Course on the Big Island which is also serving as the host course for the PacWest Championships from April 20 to 22.
Another freshman,
Kalani Frazier (Kapolei, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kapolei), also performed well during the non-championship season, holding a 79.50 average which is currently fourth-best on the team.
Providing depth for the Silverswords are seniors
Gavin Bedoya (Honolulu/Kaiser),
Ezekiel Bernardo-Flores (Waipahu, O'ahu, Hawai'i/Kamehameha-Kapalama) and
Curtis Coburn (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) who completed a standout four-year career on the Chaminade men's soccer team.
Following the NDNU Invitational, the 'Swords will remain in northern California for the two-day, three-round Cal State East Bay-hosted Tim Tierney Shootout at the Corica Park South Course in Alameda, Calif., starting Monday, March 16.
From there, the team has two 18-hole dual matches against HPU on March 30 and April 14. The latter will serve as their last tune-up before the PacWest Championships.
