The UCSB golf team took to the links the past two days at the Club Glove Intercollegiate tournament in Somis, Calif., finishing 11th out of 12 teams with a three-round total of 956, 92 over par.

Redshirt sophomore Matt Grush finished first on the team, tying for 21st overall, with three consistent rounds of 78, 78 and 79 to finish at 19 over par. Freshmen Tyler Weir and Michael Casca finished 21 and 29 over par, respectively, while senior Darren Schwartz finished 43 over par.

“The conditions were really tough out there,” Grush said. “I had to adjust my club selection on every hole to make up for the wind.”

The winner of the individual tournament was Joel Sjoholm from Georgia State University, who finished with a three-round total of 225, 9 over par. Pepperdine won the team title of the tournament with a three-round total of 905, 41 over par. Their top three players finished second, seventh and eighth. The Santa Ana winds raging throughout Southern California, described by redshirt sophomore Brian Hollenbeck as “gusting between 30 and 40 miles per hour on some holes” drastically affected the conditions and yielded several high scores.

“It goes to show how hard the conditions were that the winner finished at 9 over par, which is a ridiculously high winning score,” said Grush.

The Gauchos have had an up-and-down start to their season. Santa Barbara kicked off the year last week with a bang, winning its first tournament with Hollenbeck and Casca finishing first and second, respectively. Last week Hollenbeck had to make a 50-foot putt up a treacherously tiered green to win the tournament and he nailed it. This week, none of the Gaucho golfers were able to even crack the top 20. Hollenbeck finished with a three-round total of 239, 23 over par.

With these two freshmen and two redshirt sophomores, UCSB is sporting a very young lineup. While this builds hope for a strong future, the lack of collegiate golfing experience might catch up to the Gauchos in the early going. Despite finishing next to last, Santa Barbara remained positive.

“We played excellently in our first tournament, but unfortunately we were unable to build off of that,” Hollenbeck said. “The conditions were tough and we just weren’t sharp. Under these conditions, if you’re not playing well, you can really struggle.”

The Gauchos tee it up again tomorrow at the Del Walker Intercollegiate in Long Beach.