Friday, September 19
Albuquerque, NM
USC
at
William H. Tucker Intercollegiate
USC Men's Golf Finishes Third At Tucker Intercollegiate
September 20, 2025 | Men's Golf
ALBUQUERQUE, NM. – The USC men's golf team wrapped up play at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, finishing tied with Colorado for third as a team, highlighted by an individual fourth-place finish by Nicolas Dominguez.
As a team, the Trojans shot a 17-under-par 847 over the course of the 54-hole tournament, finishing just a stroke out of second and six strokes back of first in the 18-team field. The Top 3 finish comes on the heels of USC winning its season-opening tournament last time out at the Whirlwind Invitational. The last time the Trojans started a season with back-to-back Top 3 finishes was 2014 when USC finished second at the Southwestern Invitational and then tied for first at the Itani Homes Collegiate.
"Scoring was really tight all week with a lot of teams in and out of the top eight," said USC Head Coach Mark Hankins. "We just kept our heads down and grinded until the final hole. We had some nice individual finishes with Nico in fourth and Antonio in 11th, which led to our Top 3 team finish in a big field. It's more progress and these guys have a lot to be proud of this week."
Individually, Dominguez shot a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish tied for fourth at 7-under with Jaden Huggins and Jack Cantlay from Long Beach State. After shooting 71-68 on day one of the event, Dominguez made five birdies in his final round to secure the best finish of his career. Dominguez tied Antonio Safa for the Trojans' low round of the day on Saturday at 70.
"I felt comfortable out there," said Dominguez. "It was my third time playing the course, so I just kept being patient with my game and it worked out. I was happy to see my name close to the top of the leaderboard and hopefully I'll have more of those as the season goes by."
USC had three individual Top 15 finishers at the tournament, with Safa finishing in 11th at 5-under-par, and Jaden Dumdumaya finishing in 15th at 4-under-par. After opening with rounds of 67 and 74 on Friday, Safa fired a 2-under-par 70 in the final round, highlighted by an eagle on Safa's final hole of the tournament. Dumdumaya shot an even-par round of 72, shooting a 3-under-par 33 on his back nine. Both players now have backtio-back Top 15 finishes to start the year after Safa finished 1st and Dumdumaya 2nd at last week's Whirlwind Invitational.
USC's 17-under-par team finish is a 40-shot improvement from last season's showing at the Tucker. Three current Trojans played in the tournament last season, each seeing big score improvements this year. Dominguez had the biggest jump, shooting 15 strokes better, followed by Jack Buchanan with an 11-stroke improvement, and Safa with a 9-shot improvement. USC and the hosting team, New Mexico, were the only two teams to have at least five players finish under par for the tournament. New Mexico had six under-par players and finished in 2nd place as a team.
Both Buchanan and Raghav Gulati shot 2-over par 74's in the final round. Buchanan began the day at 3-under-par after opening with rounds of 74 and 67, and finished in a tie for 27th. Gulati shot his lowest round of the tournament after opening with 78-76 in the first two rounds.
Playing as an individual, Luke Stock found himself in contention after shooting 68-71 on Friday, sitting at 5-under-par. After starting his day with a birdie, he struggled to gain momentum and finished 1-under-par overall in a tie for 27th.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES:
T4. Nicolas Dominguez, -7, 209 (71-68-70)
T11. Antonio Safa, -5, 211 (67-74-70)
T15. Jaden Dumdumaya, -4, 212 (72-73-72)
T27. Jack Buchanan, -1, 215 (74-67-74)
T27. Luke Stock (Ind.), -1, 215 (68-71-76)
T95. Raghav Gulati, +12, 228 (78-76-74)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
As a team, the Trojans shot a 17-under-par 847 over the course of the 54-hole tournament, finishing just a stroke out of second and six strokes back of first in the 18-team field. The Top 3 finish comes on the heels of USC winning its season-opening tournament last time out at the Whirlwind Invitational. The last time the Trojans started a season with back-to-back Top 3 finishes was 2014 when USC finished second at the Southwestern Invitational and then tied for first at the Itani Homes Collegiate.
"Scoring was really tight all week with a lot of teams in and out of the top eight," said USC Head Coach Mark Hankins. "We just kept our heads down and grinded until the final hole. We had some nice individual finishes with Nico in fourth and Antonio in 11th, which led to our Top 3 team finish in a big field. It's more progress and these guys have a lot to be proud of this week."
Individually, Dominguez shot a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish tied for fourth at 7-under with Jaden Huggins and Jack Cantlay from Long Beach State. After shooting 71-68 on day one of the event, Dominguez made five birdies in his final round to secure the best finish of his career. Dominguez tied Antonio Safa for the Trojans' low round of the day on Saturday at 70.
"I felt comfortable out there," said Dominguez. "It was my third time playing the course, so I just kept being patient with my game and it worked out. I was happy to see my name close to the top of the leaderboard and hopefully I'll have more of those as the season goes by."
USC had three individual Top 15 finishers at the tournament, with Safa finishing in 11th at 5-under-par, and Jaden Dumdumaya finishing in 15th at 4-under-par. After opening with rounds of 67 and 74 on Friday, Safa fired a 2-under-par 70 in the final round, highlighted by an eagle on Safa's final hole of the tournament. Dumdumaya shot an even-par round of 72, shooting a 3-under-par 33 on his back nine. Both players now have backtio-back Top 15 finishes to start the year after Safa finished 1st and Dumdumaya 2nd at last week's Whirlwind Invitational.
USC's 17-under-par team finish is a 40-shot improvement from last season's showing at the Tucker. Three current Trojans played in the tournament last season, each seeing big score improvements this year. Dominguez had the biggest jump, shooting 15 strokes better, followed by Jack Buchanan with an 11-stroke improvement, and Safa with a 9-shot improvement. USC and the hosting team, New Mexico, were the only two teams to have at least five players finish under par for the tournament. New Mexico had six under-par players and finished in 2nd place as a team.
Both Buchanan and Raghav Gulati shot 2-over par 74's in the final round. Buchanan began the day at 3-under-par after opening with rounds of 74 and 67, and finished in a tie for 27th. Gulati shot his lowest round of the tournament after opening with 78-76 in the first two rounds.
Playing as an individual, Luke Stock found himself in contention after shooting 68-71 on Friday, sitting at 5-under-par. After starting his day with a birdie, he struggled to gain momentum and finished 1-under-par overall in a tie for 27th.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES:
T4. Nicolas Dominguez, -7, 209 (71-68-70)
T11. Antonio Safa, -5, 211 (67-74-70)
T15. Jaden Dumdumaya, -4, 212 (72-73-72)
T27. Jack Buchanan, -1, 215 (74-67-74)
T27. Luke Stock (Ind.), -1, 215 (68-71-76)
T95. Raghav Gulati, +12, 228 (78-76-74)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
| Place | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| 1st | Long Beach State | 284 | 280 | 277 | 841 |
| 2nd | New Mexico | 276 | 282 | 288 | 846 |
| 3rd | USC | 279 | 282 | 286 | 847 |
| 3rd | Colorado | 289 | 271 | 287 | 847 |
| 5th | UTEP | 287 | 283 | 282 | 852 |
| 6th | Fresno State | 284 | 286 | 284 | 854 |
| 7th | Grand Canyon | 280 | 284 | 291 | 855 |
| 8th | Santa Clara | 287 | 277 | 292 | 856 |
| 9th | San Francisco | 285 | 286 | 287 | 858 |
| 10th | Oral Roberts | 291 | 278 | 291 | 860 |
| T11th | North Texas | 292 | 285 | 288 | 865 |
| T11th | Arkansas State | 291 | 282 | 292 | 865 |
| 13th | Tarleton State | 286 | 284 | 296 | 866 |
| 14th | Stetson | 290 | 286 | 293 | 869 |
| 15th | Eastern Michigan | 295 | 286 | 290 | 871 |
| 16th | Colorado State | 292 | 284 | 296 | 872 |
| 17th | Rice | 288 | 287 | 299 | 874 |
| 18th | New Mexico State | 295 | 291 | 289 | 875 |
Players Mentioned
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