Pirates take 8th overall at Men's Golf State Finals
LA QUINTA -- The Orange Coast College men's golf team may have been well over 100 miles away from campus, but school was definitely in session for the Pirates as they freshmen-heavy squad capped off a fantastic 2026 season with an eighth-place team finish at the 3C2A Men's Golf State Championships on Monday at the SilverRock Resort Golf Course.
Playing the best of the best on a championship-quality golf course under extremely warm conditions, the Pirates more than held their own and finished with a two-day team score of 309-312-621, just 14 shots off a top-five finish in the state.
After losing the majority of last year's state finals squad last year, the Pirates rebuilt and after a fifth-place finish in the Orange Empire Conference, Coast earned a spot at state with a fourth-place performance at the Southern California Regionals.
College of the Canyons (581) won the state title this year, rallying from an 11-shot deficit over the final six holes to edge out College of the Desert (584) by just three shots.
"It was an absolute thrill to get these young guys to the state finals," OCC head coach Sean Collins said. "They saw firsthand what it's like to play golf at the higest level for California community colleges. I hope that it was a good learning experience and I told the guys that we want to get back here and compete for a state title. I truly believe if everyone commits to that same goal, there is enough talent on this squad to be in that position next year. This weekend was a great lesson for them."
Giovanni Fontana led the Pirates through both days of the 36-hole tournament, surviving the 105-degree weather to shoot a two-day total of 74-76-150, followed by Nate Beckner (77-78-155), Brenden Barker (79-80-159), Nico Flemer (79-81-160), Yuto Tsukui (83-78-151) and Nic Borelli (86-83-169).
"This year we went up some very good competition and it was great to watch our guys develop their games and see them improve throughout the season," Collins said. "Playing with the top teams like Canyons and (state third place finisher) Reedley on Day 1 really taught us a lot about what it takes to really play well under those tough conditions. A really tough course with temps well over 100 ... it was something we just aren't used to playing, so that was good for us. I can't wait to get back and go for it again next spring.
