Feb. 21, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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No. 18 Aztecs Travel to Hawaii For Spring Season Opener
The 18th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team travels back to Hawaii to begin their spring season at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Hawai'i at the Leilehua Golf Course in Wahiawa, Hawaii.
Head Coach Ryan Donovan plans on starting five of his top-300 nationally ranked players at the tournament. Andrew Scott (No. 113) will lead the Aztecs at the number one position, followed by Aaron Goldberg (No. 191), Josh Warthen (No. 137), David Palm (No. 130) and John Gray (No. 298).
"The team looks really confident and anxious after having such a long break," said Donovan. "We've had a lot of time during the off-season to improve our game, and the guys look ready for the new season."
After a succession of top-5 tournament finishes, which includes a tournament win at the Club Glove Intercollegiate, Donovan hopes the team will pick up where they left off and continue their stroke of success at their first tournament of the year.
The last time the Aztecs were in Hawaii, they took third in the UH Fall Intercollegiate with a 12-over, 876. Senior Andrew Scott finished in a tie for first, his first win in the 2005-06 season.
Last Time In Hawaii
After spending two days of the competition in fourth, the 18th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team overtook Baylor to clinch third place at the University of Hawai'i Fall Intercollegiate with a 12-over, 876 final score.
On the final day of competition, there was nothing but upward mobility for the Aztecs, especially for senior Andrew Scott who finished in a four-way tie for first. Scott began the tournament tied for 14th, moved up in a tie for second on the second day and closed out the tournament in a four-way tie for first. It was Scott's first tournament win of the season.
Scott tied for first with Robert Goff (New Mexico St.), Sevng-Su Han (UNLV) and Ryan Baca (Baylor), each of whom finished with a 2-under, 214.
The last time Scott won a tournament was during the spring of the 2002-03 season at the Southern California Intercollegiate when he carded a 5-under, 211.
Sophomore Aaron Goldberg moved up from 15th to finish in 12th, and senior Josh Warthen moved into the top-25 to end the competition in a tie for 23rd place. Sophomore David Palm, who spent most of the UH Fall Intercollegiate below the top-25, finished in a tie for 25th with a final score of 224.
Sophomore Chad Moscovic made the biggest jump on the leader board, moving up to 57th place to finish 30th after carding a 1-under, 71. Moscovic's final-round effort was tops for San Diego State.
Still Standing
* After a long winter break and a late start into the spring season, the Aztecs fell from No. 17 to No. 18 in the Golfweek/Sagarin polls.
* All five of the participating Aztecs in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate are ranked among the top-300 collegiate golfers in the nation. Andrew Scott leads the pack, ranked at No. 113, followed by David Palm (No. 130) and Josh Warthen (No. 137).
San Diego State History at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate
* This will be the seventh time in eight seasons that the Aztecs have participated in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate since the formation of the Mountain West Conference.
* The last year the Aztecs placed sixth out of 21 teams. Then-Aztec, Aaron Choi, led the team with a 208 final score andplaced 12th overall.
* In 2002-03, SDSU had back-to-back individual first place finishes at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. John Lieber won the individual competition in 2002 and Lars Johansen won the same event the following year. Overall, in 2002, SDSU finished in first, and then in third the next year.
* This will be the first time since 2002 that the Aztecs have played in back-to-back tournaments in Hawaii.