His Oakland campus closed. Now a college golfer is back in contention.
Luke Dugger sets Sacramento State scoring record, nearly wins Stockton tournament
When it comes to collegiate golf, Luke Dugger has taken tough news before.
Last December, his coach at Holy Names University in Oakland called an unexpected meeting. The 155-year-old Catholic institution had reportedly defaulted on a $49 million loan and was closing after the academic year.
“It was pretty crazy,” said Dugger, who earned his undergraduate degree before the closure but had two years of college golf eligibility remaining. “We heard rumors, then coach called a meeting on a random Thursday. We never had one like that before, so we figured something was up. We met in a classroom and they told our team and the women’s team that the school was shutting down.”
Dugger, who earned all-PacWest Conference honors at Division II Holy Names, had previously contemplated jumping to Division I. However, with not all of his academic credits transferring, the golfer decided to stay another year. Now, with the Oakland campus closing, the decision was made for him.
The Davis native enrolled into Sacramento State’s graduate business program this fall, and earlier this week shot consecutive 66s (the first Sacramento State player to shoot consecutive rounds of 66 or better) at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational at The Reserve at Spanos Park. Dugger, who entered Wednesday’s final round tied for the lead at 12-under par with Tomasso Zorzetto of Grand Canyon University, birdied his first two holes for an early two-stroke lead.
Cal State Fullerton senior Tevan Andrews, who started the day seven shots behind Dugger and Zorzetto, went 7-under par over a seven-hole stretch on the back nine, including two eagles, to shoot a 9-under 63 and take a 14-under clubhouse lead. Dugger, who parred nine holes in a row after a lip-out bogey on the par-3 eighth, arrived at the final hole needing birdie to match.
Dugger’s playing partners were also in contention entering the 18th hole.
Matthew Sutherland, a Fresno State senior, eagled the par-5 11th hole to jump into contention and, like Dugger, needed a birdie on the final hole to match Andrews. Sutherland is the son of David Sutherland, who coaches the Sacramento State women’s golf team and played on the PGA Tour with brother Kevin, who now plays the Champions Tour. Matthew’s younger brother, Keaton, is a senior golfer at Sacramento State. On the 18th, Sutherland drove into the bushes left of the fairway and, with father David looking on, took an unplayable and bogeyed the hole.
Preston Bebich, a Washington State senior with seven birdies on his card, including six over his previous 12 holes, needed only a par to match Andrews. His approach struck a wooden plank surrounding the green and bounced into the lake. The group conferred with a rules official and coaches to determine that the ball had crossed land and could be dropped greenside, giving Bebich a look at par. The putt missed, however, and Bebich took his only bogey of the day.
Dugger hadn’t birdied since the opening holes Wednesday, and saved pars after several fairway bunker shots and delicate chips to remain in the hunt. On the 18th hole, he split the hazards on his drive and hit his approach wedge to about 10 feet, leaving a slippery putt to tie Andrews.
Dugger prefers to not know his standing on the leaderboard (which was only updated after every three holes, anyway, leaving everyone in the dark for long stretches), saying it doesn’t affect his strategy. So, it wasn’t until Dugger reached the scoring tent that he realized his putt that scared the 18th cup, but didn’t fall, had cost him a chance for his first Division I victory.
Andrews’ round held up for his first collegiate win. Dugger tied for second with Bebich, with Sutherland and Zorzetto tied for fourth. Grand Canyon won the team event, with Sacramento State tied for 10th place out of 17 teams. University of the Pacific, the host school, placed 13th.
“It’s golf,” said Dugger, putting his round, tournament and past year in perspective. “I hit a lot of good putts. Not much you can do other than that. Left a lot out there.”
Dugger’s former Holy Names teammates, four of whom he shared a house with next to Corica Golf Park in Alameda, are now scattered across the country. Blas Ayesa is at Oklahoma Christian. Edvin Backstrom at Kent State. Ludvig Wijkstrom at Missouri State. Dugger’s former coach, Eric Frazzetta, is now an assistant at Cal Poly.
“Everyone pretty much found a spot,” Dugger said. “The most emotional ones were the coaches. They put a lot into the program, and to see it shutdown was tough.”
Now the graduate student hopes Wednesday’s heartache leads to better days.
“It’s always fun being in contention,” he said. “That’s all you can ask for.”