May 27, 2003
STILLWATER, Okla. - The San Diego State men's golf team struggled in the opening round of play in the NCAA Championship tournament being held at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla.
The Aztecs finished the day with a 35-over-par 323 to land in a 29th-place tie in the 30-team championship field. It was San Diego State's worst round of golf this season (by 21 shots). In general, all of the scores were high. Four teams, Oklahoma State, North Carolina State, Clemson and Auburn, share the lead with 11-over 299 scores.
San Diego State was hampered when sophomore Aaron Choi was unable to participate due to illness after Sunday's practice round. He was replaced by Andrew Scott, who arrived in Stillwater late Monday. Scott did not benefit from the two days of practice each of the teams enjoyed before play began Tuesday morning.
The good news for San Diego State is that the event is four rounds and will not conclude until Friday afternoon. The Aztecs are making just their second NCAA Championship appearance since 1985 and their 23rd overall.
"The setup of the course was extremely difficult," said third-year Aztec head coach Dale Walker. "We just have to regroup and be better Wednesday than we were today."
Team Scores: Oklahoma State 299, North Carolina State 299, Clemson 299, Auburn 299, Southern California 300, Duke 300, Florida 302, UCLA 303, Wake Forest 304, Illinois 304, Minnesota 305, Texas 306, Arizona State 306, Arizona 307, Wichita State 308, North Carolina 308, Kentucky 309, New Mexico 309, Georgia Tech 310, Augusta State 311, UNLV 313, South Carolina 313, Arkansas 314, Washington 314, Georgia 315, SMU 316, Vanderbilt 320, Tennessee 320, San Diego State 323, Oregon 323
SDSU Individuals
John Lieber 78 +6
Andrew Scott 81 +9
Lars Johansson 82 +10
Mark Warman 82 +10
Brian Miller 83 +11