April 18, 2005
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Golf Weekly Release
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Aztecs Look to Continue Strong Play at BYU Cougar Classic
• After a second-place finish at the Stanford U.S. Intercollegiate, the San Diego State men's golf team hopes to continue its hot streak as they head to the BYU Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah, on April 22. The Aztecs will wrap up their regular season at the par 72, 6,950-yard Riverside Country Club golf course. A total of 19 teams are expected to participate in this year's contest. This is the team's first trip to Provo since 2001, when the Aztecs claimed first place by seventeen strokes over UC Santa Barbara. The tournament begins friday with an 8 a.m. (MDT) shotgun start.
Scouting the BYU Cougar Classic
• The Cougar Classic features 19 teams, including defending champion Colorado State. Other participants include MWC-rival Utah, Boise State andUTEP, all of whom finished in the top five in last year's event.
• Host Brigham Young enters the Cougar Classic ranked No. 13 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin performance rankings. The Cougars are coming off a sixth-place finish, in which they shot a 22-over-par 874 at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. BYU is led by senior Greg Machtaler, who is ranked 16th among collegiate individuals by Golfweek.
• SDSU enters the tournament at No. 58, the third-highest ranked team in the field behind BYU and UC Davis (49th).
The Lineup
• The Aztecs enter the BYU Cougar Classic prepared with a veteran lineup including seniors Aaron Choi, Linus Nilsson, and Gilberto Rodriguez. Juniors Andrew Scott and Josh Warthen round out the lineup.
• Choi and Scott are each making their sixth appearence of the spring. The Cougar Classic marks the fifth event for both Rodruguez and Nilsson. Josh Warthen is competing in his first event since the spring season opened at the John Burns Invitational.
U.S. Intercollegiate Review
• San Diego State shot a final round score of 284 last Sunday to secure a second-place finish at the Stanford U.S. Intercollegiate. Aaron Choi placed fifth in a field of 96 golfers after shooting 67 and 70 in the first two rounds of play. Choi recorded a 3-over-par 73 on Sunday to finish with a 54-hole even-par score of 210. He finished two shots behind Arizona State's Pat Moore for the individual title. Choi's teammates Gilberto Rodriguez and Andrew Scott also notched top-20 scores, each tying for 12th and 18th, respectively. As a team, the Aztecs recorded a total score of 863. USC won the 18-team competition with a low score of 846.
Looking Back - Fall 2004 Review
• A second-place finish at the Fresno State Lexus Golf Classic proved to be the high point for the Aztec men during the fall. Junior Andrew Scott placed second in a field of 95 competitors. He shot a 66 in the first round, and finished with an 11-under 205 to lead the team. Aaron Choi ended up with three top-20 finishes, including two top-10 finishes and a sixth-place finish at the Husky Invitational. Choi also led the team with a 71.87 stroke average for the fall. Josh Warthen tied Choi for the team lead in rounds played with 15 each. Overall, SDSU placed golfers in the top 20 eight times during the fall 2004 season.
Head Coach Ryan Donovan
• After leading the Aztecs to a solid season in 2004, Ryan Donovan begins his second season as the head coach of the San Diego Stat men's golf program. Last year, the Aztecs compiled a record on 105-66-1 in head-to-head play. Prior to taking over the program, Donovan served as the SDSU assistant golf coach. From 1997 to 2001 Donovan also was a four-year member of the Aztec golf team. The most successful season of his collegiate career was in 2000, when he recorded five top-30 finishes.