The Irvine Valley men's golf team began the season last week at the annual Tee Off Classic at Los Serranos in Chino Hills.

The Lasers shot a two-day total of 785 to place 10th.

Palomar won the tournament by posting a two-day total score of even par. Orange Coast and Cypress were not far behind.

"It should be wide open after those top three teams this season," IVC Coach Ben Burnett said. "Irvine Valley will be be among the six other conference teams that strive to capture fourth or fifth place in conference, in order to advance the whole team into the conference finals."

Adam Ruppert is IVC's only returning player from last season. He is serving as the team's captain.
"Adam hopes to be a part of the UC Irvine team next fall," Burnett said.

Ruppert had one birdie, seven pars, nine bogeys and one double bogey for a score of 9 over par on the first day of the Tee Off Classic. 
He improved with two birdies, 10 pars, four bogeys and two double bogeys for 6 over par in his second round.

Dane Thomas returns to the team after sitting out last season. At the Tee Off Classic, he opened with one birdie, 13 pars and four bogeys for a round of 3 over par. On the second day, Thomas had one birdie, 10 pars, five bogeys and two double bogeys for a round of 8 over par.

"He plans to begin the PGA Class A Head Pro process after the season by passing his P.A.T. (Playing Ability Qualifying Tournament," Burnett said.

Burnett is looking for a number of freshmen players to step up this season. Nearly all of them got a chance to compete at the Tee Off Classic.

Joe Chun, who plans to transfer to Cal State Fullerton following the golf season, had two birdies, 13 pars, one bogey, one double bogey and one triple bogey for a final score of 4 over par on the first day of the tournament.
On his second round, he posted two birdies, 13 pars, and three bogeys for a round of 1 over par.

Joseph Filia opened with three birdies, 11 pars, two bogeys and two double bogeys for a score of 3 over par.
On his 2nd round, Filia had one birdie, nine pars, seven bogeys and one double bogey for a score of 8 over par.

Sylvain Debiais opened with six pars, nine bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey for 13 over par.
His 2nd round of 1 over par included 17 pars and one bogey.

Joey Fuscardo opened with three birdies, eight pars, five bogeys and two double bogeys, for a score of 6 over par. On his 2nd round, Fuscardo had one birdie, eight pars and nine bogeys for a score of 9 over par.

Daniel Neben's opening round included 10 pars and eight bogeys for a score of 8 over par. His 2nd round was two birdies, 10 pars and six bogeys for a round of 4 over par.

Alex Kim's opening round included one birdie, eight pars, seven bogeys, one double bogey and one triple bogey for a score of 13 over par. 
Kim's second round included one birdie, nine pars, six bogeys and two double bogeys for a score of 9 over par.

Kim has been admitted to the U.S. Military Academy and will attend after this semester.

Irvine Valley plays its first Orange Empire Conference match of the season on Monday, traveling to face Palomar.

The Lasers will host the IVC Invitational on Wednesday at 12 p.m.