EL MACERO, Calif. – On a familiar course where he has found success before, Fresno State's Matthew Sutherland closed out the El Macero Classic with a third-place finish, carding a 9-under par 207 at El Macero Country Club. It is the junior's highest finish of the season.
Following his best round of the weekend on Saturday, Sutherland found the birdies hard to come by on Sunday. The Bulldog found just two on the day with them coming 16 holes apart. Sitting at 2 over through 14 holes, Sutherland rebounded with an eagle at No. 15 to pull back to even. He finished his round the way he had the last two days—with a birdie on 18.
That final birdie gave Sutherland his third-straight round under par. He finished four shots out of first.
Matthew Manganello finished the week tied for 17th. In the hunt after a 67 in the second round, the junior carded a 77 on Sunday but maintained a spot in the Top 20 with a birdie on his final hole.
Jake Bettencourt saved his best round of the weekend for the final day, shooting a 1-under par 71. The sophomore moved up 16 spots to place 36th, his highest finish of the season.
As a team, Fresno State finished where it began the day. Carding a 5-over par 293 in Round 3, the Bulldogs finished the weekend in eighth at 2-over par.
Notes
The third-place finish was Matthew Sutherland's best of the season.
The finish was Sutherland's fourth Top 5 result this year and first of the spring.
The 207 is tied for Sutherland's third-lowest 54-hole tournament of the season.
Sutherland's 67 in Round 2 was tied for his second-lowest score of the year.
Sutherland has placed first (2021) and third (2023) in recent years at the El Macero Classic.
Fresno State scoring
3. Matthew Sutherland -9 (69-67-71)
T17. Matthew Manganello -1 (71-67-77)
T36. Jake Bettencourt +1 (73-74-71)
T77. Joseph Lloyd +11 (76-77-74)
92. Jake Aberle +16 (77-76-79)
Up Next
The Bulldogs will be off next week before ending the month in Tucson, Ariz. at the Mountain West Championship (April 28-30).