Feb. 24, 2013

Inside the Lions with Chavez | 2013 Schedule | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter

LONG BEACH -- LMU men's golf senior Educardo Chavez has played golf has traveled from coast to coast in playing golf, from playing as an amateur in Florida to his freshman season at New Mexico, and finally landing with the Lions the last three years. Inside the Lions interviews the senior as he and the Lions head to the 17th Annual Del Walker Intercollegiate Golf Classic on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 25-26.

Chavez, who played in the Florida Junior Amateur Championship this summer, considers his amateur championship experience among his most memorable. He continues to work towards his goal of playing professionally once he earns his Communications degree this May. He talks about that and more in the latest Inside the Lions Spotlight on Lions All-Access.

He will be playing in his 24th event as a Lion this week when he along with Tyler Torano, Bryan Bergna, Connor Campbell and Boris Stantchev will face the nine-team field at the Virginia Country Club in Long Beach. Tyler Little and Chase Nicolai will play as individuals.

17th Del Walker Intercollegiate Golf Classic
Hosted by Long Beach State
Virginia Country Club - Par-70, 6,633-yards
Long Beach, Calif.

SCHEDULE
Monday, Feb. 25 - First & Second Rounds (Live scoring: Golfstat)
Tuesday, Feb. 26 - Final Round, (Live scoring: Golfstat)

FIRST TEE
The Long Beach State men's golf team is set to host the 17th Del Walker Intercollegiate Golf Classic, Feb. 25-26, at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach. First and second rounds will begin with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. (PST) on Monday, Feb. 25 with the final round concluding on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

DEL WALKER FIELD
LMU and host Long Beach State will be among a nine-team field for this year's 17th Del Walker Intercollegiate Golf Classic. Also in the field is British Columbia, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Grand Canyon, Pacific, UNCW and VCU.

LIVE SCORING
Live scoring of all three rounds of the Del Walker Intercollegiate Golf Classic will be available on Golfstat.com..

ABOUT DEL WALKER
During the City of Long Beach's Centennial Celebration in 1988, the Long Beach Press-Telegram named Del Walker the city's "Golfer of the Century", and Long Beach State and Virginia Country Club are pleased to recognize his accomplishments by naming this annual tournament after him. Delbert Walker or "Coach" as everyone simply called him, was born in North Dakota in 1913 and moved to Long Beach at the age of 14. He took up golf at 18, teaching himself the game after reading a book by Harry Vardon. Within three years he was good enough to play for UCLA, where he never lost a match and won the Southern California Collegiate Championship as a rookie. He joined Virginia CC in 1940, and was a fixture there until his death in 2007. Coach won the Long Beach City Championship four times, the VCC Club Championship nine times (the first in 1940, the last in 1977). He also eagled every hole at Virginia at least once!

Walker had a rich tradition in athletic endeavors of the golf course as well. In addition to golf, he coached basketball, football, track, tennis and baseball. As an athletic administrator, he was the athletic director at Long Beach Poly High School and Long Beach City College, where incidentally, he gave Lute Olsen his first job as a head basketball coach. Walker came out of retirement in 1982 to coach the 49er men's golf team "for one year" and ended up doing it for 12 years. His wife Marty came out of retirement in 1986 to coach the 49er women's team, making the Walkers what they called "a unique Division I coaching combination". Walker was named the Big West Conference Coach of the Year in 1982, 1986 and 1994, and along with some key boosters from Virginia led the "Save Golf Campaign" that kept the program from being eliminated in 1991.

- GO LIONS -