SAN BERNARDINO — California State University San Bernardino sophomore Matt Wotherspoon carded rounds of 70-76-73 earlier this week at the Dennis Rose Invitational at the Waikoloa Beach Course in Hawaii.
San Bernardino finished third in the 15-team field during the three-day tournament. Wotherspoon’s 219 aggregate total was good enough to earn him 25th place in a field of 75 golfers. The Dennis Rose Invitational is a longtime college golf tournament that is hosted by the University of Hawaii- Hilo.
Colorado Christian University finished first with a most impressive team total of 1-under-par. Western New Mexico University was the runner-up at 9-over-par followed by San Bernardino at 17-over-par. Cam Sandland of Colorado Christian was the low individual golfer following scores of 72-61-70 for a 7-under-par 203 aggregate total. Wotherspoon’s teammate, Brian Nielsen, finished second after posting scores of 66-68-72 for a 4-under-par 206 total.
The Dennis Rose Invitational concluded a four-tournament autumn stretch for the San Bernardino golf team. In late September, Wotherspoon and his teammates finished eighth in a 12-team field at the St. Martin’s Invitational in Dupont, Washington at The Home Course. Wotherspoon posted scores of 77-78-72 to shoot 227 and finish at 11-over-par. San Bernardino then competed in the Western Washington University Invitational at the Loomis Trails Golf Club in Bellingham, Washington, where bad weather was the overall theme at Loomis Trails as first-round play was canceled because of heavy rain. Limited to a 36-hole rain-drenched tournament, San Bernardino came in third in a field of nine teams as Wotherspoon carded scores of 79-87 for a 168 total.
CSU San Bernardino won the Otter Invitational in mid-October at the difficult Bayonet and Blackhorse courses at Fort Ord. The Otter is hosted by California State University Monterey Bay. San Bernardino topped the 15-team field that featured some of the best NCAA Division II programs, including Monterey Bay, Chico State, Stanislaus State and San Marcos. Wotherspoon posted scores of 81-79-76 for a 20-over-par 236 total.
Wotherspoon graduated from Kelseyville High School in 2018 and was a four-time All-Coastal Mountain Conference golfer, including conference MVP in 2018 when he finished second that May in the North Coast Section Tournament after carding a 4-under-par 68 at the Metropolitan Golf Club in Oakland.
After graduating from Kelseyville, Wotherspoon played junior college golf at Cypress College in Southern California. Cypress finished third in the spring of 2019 at the Junior College State Finals at the North Course at Silverado Resort in Napa. His 2020 season was scratched because of the COVID-19 pandemic. San Bernardino will resume its season in February and has an active spring schedule of 54-hole tournaments.
