The Long Beach State men’s golf team brings a lot of young talent to the table in its upcoming season.
LBSU will fly out to Chicago, Ill., to take part in the Windon Memorial Classic on Sunday and Monday. The first and second round (36 holes) will be played on Day 1 of the event.
The 49ers will compete against 16 other schools including four teams ranked in the top 50. LBSU is coming off of a third-place finish in the Big West Conference last year.
Leading The Beach this season is first-year head coach Ryan Ressa.
Ressa served as an assistant last year at No. 9 UCLA and is looking to bring that success to Long Beach. Ressa’s confidence in his team seems to be contagious.
“They’re believing in their abilities,” Ressa said of his team.
All six players are returners for LBSU, but none of them are seniors. The team consists of four sophomores and two juniors.
“One through six we are strong. Our confidence is at its peak,” Ressa said. “Everybody looks to be in great form.”
The ‘Niners will have to hope that the offseason success of junior Kevin Roy and sophomore Raymond Ho will carry over into their regular season schedule.
“Ray has had his best summer to date” Ressa said.
Ho’s offseason success included a second-place finish at the Industry Hills Championship in mid-July.
Roy was busy this summer as well, sweeping the Gerry Ashe Memorial, the Post-Standard amateur and the Syracuse District Golf Association’s amateur match-play event.
Along with Ho and Roy, redshirt sophomore Kevin Lim will be a key component to The Beach’s success this year.
“Kevin’s got the best short game I’ve ever seen in a college career,” Ressa said. “He’ll be our X-factor.”
LBSU will need all the help it can get this year with a tough fall schedule.
The Beach will see a lot of big competition throughout the beginning of the season including an event with No. 2 Washington and No. 7 Oregon — according to Golfweek — in the second tournament of the season, The Prestige at PGA West.
LBSU finished 12th last year in the same tournament out of a field of 14.
The 49ers’ most challenging tournament, however, will be the Gifford Collegiate Championship where they will face defending NCAA Champions Augusta State along with many other top-ranked opponents.
“We’re looking to get off on the right foot,” Ressa said. “The golf will take care of itself.”
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