Feb. 24, 2006

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Briefly
After posting some the best scores in the four years under Head Coach Alex Galvan in the fall season, the Loyola Marymount men's golf team returns to the course for the spring season. It will begin with the Lions' 2006 Carson Daly Intercollegiate. It is the third season the Lions have hosted the event with The Master's College. The tournament will be three rounds, holding two 18-hole rounds on Monday, Feb. 27 and then a final round on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The tournament will once again be at Robinson Ranch Golf Course in Santa Clarita. Participating in this year's tournament will be Loyola Marymount University, The Masters College, University of British Columbia, Cal State East Bay, San Francisco, Santa Clara (Individuals), Concordia, Cal Lutheran, Utah Valley State and Holy Names.

The Course
One of California's premier golf destinations, Robinson Ranch's Mountain and Valley golf courses, nestled at the base of the Angeles National Forest, offer breathtaking views of the Santa Clarita Valley. With consideration to the conservation and preservation of indigenous plant and animal life in the development and management of the property, Robinson Ranch has obtained certification as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary with Silver Signature Status. This year's tournament will be played on the Valley Course, a par-72 track that is 6,903 yards in length.

On a Roll
Sophomore Jason D'Amore finished the 2005 University of Hawaii Intercollegiate in sixth place with a three-round score of even par, posting a 216. It is his seventh top-10 finish of his young career. For the tournament there were just seven players at par or better among the 108-man field. D'Amore was one of the best on the par-4 holes, finishing one-under for the tournament with an average score of 3.97 on those holes. In the 54 holes, D'Amore finished with 12 birdies, tied for seventh most among the field. The performance in Hawaii continued where he left off in 2005. He was named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, the second Lion in three seasons to earn the honor. The Mira Costa High School graduate was also named first-team All-WCC. It was a season to remember for D'Amore as he led the Lions in 10 of 11 tournaments they played in this season. From the moment he stepped on the course as a Lion, he was putting his name into the record books. After shooting a first-round 71, D'Amore vaulted into first place of the Vandal Fall Classic after two rounds, shooting a record-tying 64 in the second round. The 64 tied Nicholas Beauvy's single round score set in 1981. D'Amore would remain in first place the entire third round thanks to his 68 in the final round. He finished with a 10-under par 203 and shattered the school record for three rounds set by Mike Farrell in 2002 with a 209. D'Amore finished with more rounds under 70 as a freshman than any golfer in LMU history, doing it while playing in every event on the season. He finished with five rounds under 70, earning six top-10 finishes on the year.The All-WCC honor was the fifth by a Lion as D'Amore joins Scott Heyn (1997), Matt Heyn (2000) and Chaz Inouye (2003, 2004). Inouye was the other Lion to earn Freshman of the Year honors in 2003.

More First-Year Success
Thanks to 17 birdies in the first round of the 2005 Santa Clara Invitational, Loyola Marymount University men's golfer Brian Locke took home the individual title, posting a final round 73 to finish at a 11-under par for the tournament. The Lions finished the 13-team field in third place with an overall score of 876. The Lions finished with a final round of 299 to take third, trailing host Santa Clara by five strokes and tournament winner Boise State by nine strokes. The Lions finished a head of fellow West Coast Conference foes Saint Mary's (877) and San Francisco (892). Locke tied a course record and tied an LMU program single round record with his opening round 64, finished with a 205. His 64 equaled the mark held by teammate Jason D'Amore and Nicolas Beauvy (1981). His total score of 205 is the second-best 54-hole total in program history, just two strokes behind D'Amore's 203 set a year ago. The 205 at Santa Clara capped an impressive start to Locke's collegiate career. In the three events he played, Locke led the Lions in all three. He posted a 222 to place 11th in his first tournament at the Fairway Club Invitational on Sept. 12-13. He then finished in a tie for second with an even-par 213 at the Boise State Bronco Invitational on Oct. 10-11. He leads the team with four rounds under par and a 71.1 average.

Starting it All
Senior Chaz Inouye, the first recruit by Head Coach Alex Galvan, started all the success for freshman by the Lions. He was the first Lion to be named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year thanks to his program-best third place finish at the WCC Championships, shooting a three-round 215. He became only the second Lion in program history to post two top-10 finishes at the WCC Championships, taking eighth with a 219 as a sophomore. Only Mike Stiefel (1984, 85) had done it before. Inouye, a senior for the Lions who is fourth on the squad after the fall season with a 76.1 average, is a two-time All-WCC selection, earning first-team honors in 2003 and honorable mention honors in 2004. He is the only Lion to have two all-conference honors in his career.

Newest Lion
Alex Galvan announced that Brandin Cohen of Mira Costa High School has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend and play golf at LMU starting in the Fall of 2006. Cohen will become the fourth golfer from the Manhattan Beach high school. In his fourth season at LMU, Galvan has signed some of the best young talent in program history. In the last three seasons the Lions have produced two West Coast Conference Freshmen of the Year, including a year ago in another Mira Costa product, Jason D'Amore. Galvan expects more of the same from the latest addition in Cohen. Cohen has been a first-team all-league performer in his previous three seasons at Mira Costa. He has a scoring average of 36.1 in nine-hole competitions. He has earned a third place finish at the Team CIF Regionals (one-under par 71) and a six place finish at CIF Regionals with a two round even par 144.

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