Placing last through the end of the first round, the CSUN men’s golf team played an impressive second round to help them move up three spots in the final standings at the Santa Clara Invitational at Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose Oct. 23-24.

The Matadors tied for fourteenth place with the University of Idaho with a total score of 912. The Matadors out shot Idaho in the second and third rounds, but their first round performance limited them from moving up further in the scorecard.

Junior Aaron Hobbs scored a team-best 223. Hobbs placed the top score for the Matadors in each of the three rounds with a seven over par in the first round, two over par in the third round and a team-best two under par in the second round. Hobbs placed 23rd overall in individual performance.

Senior Joe Lopez recorded five more shots than Hobbs, finishing the invitational with a score of 228 placing him tied for 52nd place. His best performance came in the second round when he scored one over par. Lopez scored a 79 in the first round and a 76 in the third round.

Senior Luis Kim tied for 57th with a final score of 229. Kim tied Lopez and Hobbs in the first round with a 79 and Hobbs in the second round again with a 73. Kim ended the final round of the invitational with a 77.

Sophomore Clint Oleson recorded scores of 81, 73 and 78 to give him a total of 232.

The invitational featured close finishes between the top performers. Gonzaga’s Brandon Crick finished in the top individual spot with a score of 211.

UCLA’s Jason Kang scored a 214 with Boise’s Troy Merritt placing two shots behind him.

Conference opponent UC Santa Barbara took first place with a combined team score of 873. UCLA trailed them by two shots.

Another conference opponent, Cal Poly (896), tied for eighth with Santa Clara University and University of Portland.

Up next, the Matadors will host the Bill Cullum Invitational at the Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley Oct. 30-31.