Mallinger leads strong 49er finish

By Gerald Frazier
Daily Forty-Niner

The Long Beach State men's golf team finished tied for third at the Pepperdine Intercollegiate tournament Tuesday.

The 49ers finished three rounds of action shooting 892 (285-296-311), just 13 strokes behind team champion New Mexico State, which shot 879 (292-289-298). San Diego State placed second shooting 888 (299-296-293).

The 49ers went into the final round tied for the lead, and then weather became a factor.

"The weather was horrible and we were just a little bit off," Coach Bob Livingstone said. "New Mexico is very good in that weather, they handled the wind a lot better than we did."

The 49ers did, however, maintain ground in its division and remain undefeated, which keeps the team on top of the playoff race.

"They're [New Mexico and San Diego] both ranked ahead of us so it was not a big deal to lose to them," Livingstone said. "We beat everybody in our district, which is real good for the playoffs."

Led by senior John Mallinger, the 49ers had three golfers place in the individual top 10. Mallinger finished tied for second, shooting 69-71-77 (217) for three rounds. Mallinger was 12 feet and one stroke away from winning his first individual title.

"John had a 12-foot putt on the last hole to tie for first, but just missed it," Livingstone said.

Rob Kortan of New Mexico State won the title, shooting 73-71-72 (216).

Sophomore Nick Seymour finished fifth after shooting 72-71-77 (220) for three rounds. Senior Brian Merrick finished tied for seventh shooting 72-74-76 (222). Other notables included sophomore Ryan Wyman (238)  and senior Perry Dickey (239).

The 49ers' next tournament is the Fresno Lexus Bulldog Classic at Fresno State this Friday and Saturday.