In the midst of a tight battle against crosstown rival UCLA, Southern Cal senior Rico Hoey got distracted by the spectacular scene stretched before him. The sun was setting on the ocean holes at famed Cypress Point as their semifinal four-ball match came down to the wire.

Hoey stood in awe.

“It’s just hard to get mad out there,” said Hoey. “This is Cypress Point; this is once-in-a lifetime.”

USC won the Cypress Point Classic, hosted by Stanford, but all 48 players in the field left with stories from this bucket-list trip they’ll share for the rest of their lives. Like the time Hoey hit driver off the deck on the iconic 16th during a practice round the wind was so fierce. And how he proudly made par during all three rounds of competition on the 235-yard hole with a 3-iron.

Georgia’s Trevor Phillips will remember holing out with a wedge from 105 yards on the 17th hole to square his match with partner David Mackey. The pair also birdied the 16th in alternate shot after Phillips knocked it to 8 feet.

Amazingly, Phillips didn’t know much about the exclusive Alistair Mackenzie-design until he stepped on property. The tee box on the 12th hole quickly became a favorite spot.

“The ocean looked like it was a painting on that hole,” said the freshman from Spartanburg, S.C.

A caddie known as “Surfer Dave” brought the history of Cypress Point alive for Phillips and Mackey all three days. (Yes, they even had caddies.)

This marked the second time Stanford has hosted a Walker Cup-like format at Cypress Point. Andrew Hunter, a member at Cypress and graduate of the Stanford Business School, approached Cardinal coach Conrad Ray with the idea of hosting a college event there.

“It didn’t make much arm-twisting on my end,” Ray said.

The first staging of the event in 2012 featured the likes of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Rodgers in the field. The membership at Cypress Point, Ray said, wished to give back to the amateur game, and, of course, showcase their Pacific jewel.

Jim Nantz spoke to the players on Monday evening about his days as a college player at Houston and told stories from the tower at Augusta National. He came back on Tuesday to watch the singles competition.

“It was really an iconic week,” Ray said.

If only it could’ve been the one televised.

There’s never been a better time to be a college golfer. USC opened its season at Olympia Fields before moving on to Colonial and then eye-popping Cypress. Georgia’s dream schedule began at Pebble Beach, where they also used caddies. From Cypress, the Bulldogs boarded a plane in San Francisco bound for Hawaii. They’ll start the spring season in Puerto Rico and Cabo.

School days never looked so good.