SONOMA, Calif. – Vanguard men's golf turned up the heat during the conclusion of the two-day Dominican Spring Invitational. They shaved off 12 strokes from their first-round score on Monday morning, and took it a step further on the final day, shooting four below par to net the third lowest single round score in school history (284). The Blue and Gold finished the tournament third out of the seven competing team, and also tying the second-lowest score for a 54-hole tournament in VU history (882) with rounds of 305-293-284.

That wasn't the only taste of history on the day for VU. Sophomore Alexander Elia also penciled his name into the record books, with his 66-shot second round effort standing as the second-best round in Blue and Gold history, one stroke behind Charles Thurston's 2024 HPU Shark Shootout showing. Elia's performance was also tied for VU's fourth-best individual 54-hole outing, and his third career eagle led him to his first tournament win, shooting -3 in his 213 score.

The Course: Sonoma Golf Club, located in the heart of Sonoma Valley wine country, is an 18-hole championship course designed in 1928 by Sam Whiting. Renowned for its classic design, the 7,103-yard course features rolling terrain, ancient oak trees, and scenic views of the Mayacamas Mountains. It offers a "fair but formidable" experience for golfers, with unique challenges presented from prominent bunkers and a blend of long and short holes.

What Happened? Elia started the invitational with a clean stretch of pars and his first birdie, but a tougher streak over his last seven holes left him at +6 (78). The sophomore did not stand down, however, his historic second-round run later that afternoon was fueled by nine birdies through 18 holes and a 66-shot game to put him in the top three for best score. Elia outlasted the competition on the last day with his most single-round pars at 12. He closed in style with his third-career eagle and his first of the spring on hole 16, en route to the individual crown.

At the tournament, Elia was second in total birdies with 14 and cashed in on 29 pars. He was also a blistering -9 on par-five holes, which was best at the invitational. His metrics were also sound on par-three and four holes, where he was second (+1, 3.08) and tenth (+3, 4.10).

Fisher Ransom jumped up four spots to finish in a tie for sixth. His 218 (+2) total score was split across rounds of 75, 73, and 70. Ransom opened the tournament with three birdies and tacked on another four later in the afternoon. His steady hand in round three is what helped him leapfrog the opposition though, as he sprouted a team-high 35 pars (4th overall), 16 of which were produced in the concluding round. Ransom ended 11th on par-fives (2, 4.83), 14th in total birdies (9), and 16th on par-three holes (+4, 3.33).  
                 
Locking in a tie for 12th was Tyler Williams, who also had his best showing in his third round with a 222 net score (74-75-73). Williams went even on par four-holes, which was where he cashed in on seven of 12 total birdies at the invitational. Despite having his most productive birdie haul in round two, the third round was where he built the bulk of his 25 total pars. He used 11 to climb up three spots on the last day. Williams was also tied 13th in par-threes (+3, 3.25).

Paul Howard (+17) pushed out 26 pars to wield a 233 score. He had a solid pace through his first 12 holes on both rounds one and two, but his third go-around through the course was where he trimmed off the most shots, with 72 strokes to go even in his last round. Howard parred or birdied on all but two holes in the final round and ended with eight total birdies and 26 pars at the invitational.

Kyle Koski rounded out the VU competitors, shooting 240 and finishing in 34th. Koski split all four of his birdies between the opening two rounds and racked in 29 pars with 10 in round one and 11 in round three. He had his best showing on par-fives, where he was just one over par (5.08), which was tied 22nd.

The Blue and Gold were second in total birdies with 47. They were also fifth on par-fives (+22, 3.37), fourth on par-fours (+26, 4.17), and third on par-fives (-4, 4.93).

What Was Said? "Super happy to get my first win at such a special venue like Sonoma," shared the Coronado native Alexander Elia. "I'm so thankful to share the moment with my parents and my teammates. Super excited to get after it at the conference tournament now and fight to bring home the PacWest to Vanguard with the team."

What's Next? VU are headed to the Pacific West Conference Championships in two weeks' time, with the tournament in North Las Vegas set for April 20-22.