November 4-7, 2012

The Gifford Collegiate Championship at CordeValle

University of Southern California senior Steve Lim fired a final round 69 to lead the Trojans to their first tournament victory of the 2011 fall season, claiming the first individual title of his college career in the seventh annual Gifford Collegiate Golf Championship, played Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at CordeValle.

USC built a 12-stroke lead through the second round of the 54-hole tournament and the put the cushion to good use, holding off the host school, UCLA, to win by only four shots. The Trojans finished with a team total of 1,057 (best 5 of 6 scoring), 8 under par, with the Bruins at 1,061. Finishing behind USC and UCLA were (in order of scoring) Oregon, Virginia, Washington, Stanford, Arizona, Long Beach State, Coastal Carolina, Northwestern and Washington State.

Lim, from La Palma, Calif., posted rounds of 66-67-69 – the only player in the field with three scores in the 60s – for a 202 total, 11 under par. That was enough to hold off UCLA sophomore Patrick Cantlay, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world and Gifford defending champion, who finished only one shot behind, at 203. Cantlay, from Los Alamitos, Calif., opened with a record round of 63, 8 under par, followed by a pair of 70s.

CordeValle is proud to host the Gifford Collegiate, named to honor its longtime sponsor and Bay Area philanthropist Jack Gifford, a form UCLA baseball start who passed away in 2009. One of the most prestigious fall tournaments, the Gifford features many of the elite programs from throughout the country, as well as numerous top-ranked players. In this year's field of 11 teams, five came to CordeValle ranked in the Top 25.

Previous Championship Winners