May 21, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's golf program has earned a berth in the 30-team NCAA National Championships.
The Aztecs shot a final-round four-over-par 284 on Saturday and finished in seventh place at the NCAA West Regional Championships at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif. By finishing the 54-hole, three-day tournament in the top 10, San Diego State has qualified for the 30-team NCAA National Championships, June 1-4 at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
Riding the strong play of senior Gilberto Rodriguez, San Diego State used its best round of the tournament to hold off a tightly bunched group in the 27-team field vying for the final qualifying spots.
Late in the final round with SDSU in a three-way tie for ninth place, Rodriguez was nothing short of amazing, firing a back-nine 31 that featured birdies on 10, 11, 15, 16 and 18. His final round 67, gave him a three-day total of even-par and placed him in a tie for sixth place, with just a few golfers still on the course, among the 141 entries.
Junior Andrew Scott helped the team's cause with his second consecutive 1-over-par 71. After bogeying three out of four holes on the back nine, Scott was solid down the stretch, playing the final four holes at 1-under-par. He finished the championships at 5-over-par.
Junior Josh Warthen produced a final round 73. Like Scott, Warthen steadied his play down the stretch after a rough couple of holes on the back nine. Following four consecutive bogeys on 11-14, he played the final four holes at 1-under-par to help the Aztecs clinch an NCAA Championship bid.
Coming off a disappointing second round, senior Linus Nilsson produced a final round 73 that featured three birdies. He bettered his second round score by six strokes.
The Aztecs will make their 18th all-time appearance in the NCAA Men's Golf National Championships next month. This marks the third time since regional play began in 1989 that SDSU has advanced to the championships, having done so in 1999 and 2003.
Final Team Results (Top 14 Teams)1. UNLV 281-277-288--846 (+6)2. New Mexico 284-284-281--849 (+9)3. Washington 286-282-286--854 (+14)4. UCLA 288-288-281--857 (+17) Arizona State 290-281-286--857 (+17)6. Brigham Young 278-284-296--858 (+18)7. San Diego State 286-290-284--860 (+20)8. Arizona 283-296-284--863 (+23) Stanford 289-291-283--863 (+23)10. Southern California 286-292-286--864 (+24) Pepperdine 279-292-293--864 (+24) South Carolina 289-288-287--864 (+24)13. Auburn 290-295-284--869 (+29)14. Saint Mary's 295-285-290--870 (+30)
Individual Leaders as of 3 p.m.1. Rob Grube, Stanford 69-70-65--204 (-6)2. Kevin Chappell, UCLA 71-67-69--207 (-3) Nathan Lashley, Arizona 66-72-69--207 (-3)4. Oscar Alvarez, BYU 63-71-74--208 (-2)5. Pat Moore, Arizona St. 69-69-71--209 (-1)6. Gilberto Rodriguez, SDSU 69-74-67--210 (E) Spencer Levin, UNM 69-71-70--210 (E) Ryan Moore, UNLV 69-69-72--210 (E) Madalitso Muthiya, UNM 69-71-70--210 (E)
San Diego State Individual Final Scores Gilberto Rodriguez 69-74-67--210 (E) Andrew Scott 73-71-71--215 (+5) Josh Warthen 71-72-73--216 (+6) Linus Nilsson 74-79-73--226 (+16) Aaron Choi 73-73-83--229 (+19)
Individual placings are not available because some golfers are still on the course.