EWA BEACH, HI – Behind Donald Kay's nine-under and tied for second overall finish, San Diego placed in the top-five for the third time this fall as it finished tied for fifth with a five-under 859 at the Hoakalei Invitational at the Hoakalei Country Club (Par 72, 7,248 yards).
 
A junior out of San Diego, Kay notched his highest collegiate placing to become the second Torero with a runner-up finish this year. He opened (68) and finished (69) the tournament with below-70 rounds and totaled 16 birdies in the 54 holes.
 
Meanwhile, the Toreros' three top-five finishes this fall already give them their most top-five finishes in a season since the 2014-15 campaign (5).
 
"Solid event for the team," said USD head coach Chris Riley. "(Kay) struck the golf ball well all week, giving himself a lot of birdie opportunities."
 
The Toreros entered Wednesday's final round in fourth, but they had their highest round (292) of the tournament on the last day. They shot 279 in round two on Tuesday.
 
"Today we had a great opportunity to play well and finish higher but could not get it done," added Riley. "I told the guys if we want to be a national contender we need to finish tournaments off the right way."
 
Evan Kawai joined Kay as the two Toreros to finish in the top-25 after he turned in a pair of below-par rounds to shoot one-under 215 (74-70-71). It was the sophomore's second-best tournament score of the fall.
 
Harrison Kingsley shot two rounds under 70 to help him finish even-par 216 (69-67-80). The sophomore, who is the other Torero with a runner-up finish this season, finished tied for 31st.
 
The Toreros completed the fall with an average tournament finish of sixth and will return to action with the Wyoming Desert Classic in late February.
 
Team Standings (Final)
1. East Tennessee State, -29 (276-286-273)
2. Ole Miss, -20 (270-294-280)
3. Louisville, -19 (285-277-283)
4. Cal State Fullerton, -7 (283-289-285)
T-5. San Diego, -5 (288-279-292)
T-5. UMKC, -5 (289-295) – No. 112
7. Nevada, -4 (284-287-289)
8. LMU, -1 (285-293-285)
9. Missouri, +1 (292-281-29)
10. Denver, +1 (292-290-283)
11. Marquette, +2 (286-287-293)
12. UTSA, +4 (287-291-290)
13. Sam Houston State, +7 (291-284-296)
14. Abilene Christian, +9 (294-293-286)
15. New Mexico State, +10 (299-287-288)
16. Louisiana, +11 (296-285-294)
17. Army, +20 (291-303-290)
18. Idaho, +26 (297-296-297)
19. Cal Poly, +27 (289-296-305)
20. Hawaii, +60 (306-320-298)
 
Individual Standings (Final)
T-2. Donald Kay, -9 (68-70-69)
T-25. Evan Kawai, -1 (74-70-71)
T-31. Harrison Kingsley, E (69-67-80)
T-91. Yash Majmudar, +11 (78-72-77)
T-96. Alrik Pan, +13 (77-77-75)