Feb. 28, 2006
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF. - The 19th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team couldn't manage to move up into the top-10, as they finished the Ashworth Invitational, hosted by the University of Southern California, in 12th place with a team 43-over 895, on the par-71, 6,742 yd. North Ranch Country Club course in Westlake Village, Calif.
The Aztecs continued where they left off from yesterday and finished the second round with a 23-over 307 - their worst round for the tournament. SDSU tried to stage a comeback in the final round by carding a 4-over 288 - the third best team score of the day - but it wasn't enough, as the Aztecs ended the invitational in 12th with a 300-307-288--895 final score.
"We just didn't play well during this tournament," said men's golf head coach Ryan Donovan. "There was just so much rain, and the fatigue from traveling also made us lose our focus out there. But this was refreshing and good for us, because it'll keep us grounded and give us playing experience in similar weather conditions that we'll see at the Mountain West Tournament up in Oregon.
"We know we have the talent, and this experience will hopefully motivate the guys to play harder from here on out."
Sophomore Aaron Goldberg moved up from 14th, to end in a three-way tie for seventh place. Goldberg shot two, 1-over par rounds and an even-par round to finish with a 2-over 215.
Senior Andrew Scott finished in 46th after bogeying five times in the final round. Sophomore David Palm, who was tied for 61st yesterday, moved up 13 spots into the 48th position. On the final round, Palm hit five birdies to end with an Aztec team-best, 18-hole score of 70. Senior Josh Warthen and sophomore Jamie Puterbaugh finished in 59th and 75th, respectively.
This was the first time in Mountain West history that SDSU has participated in the Ashworth Invitational. The Ashworth Invitational featured eight nationally ranked teams, out of the 15 that participated, which included SDSU (19). Three of the eight ranked, participating teams are currently in the top-10 (UCLA (5), BYU (6) and Tennessee (7)).
The SDSU men's golf team will gear up and play again on March 13-14, when they will travel to Rancho Santa Fe to take part of the USD Farms Invitational.
Final Team Scores:
1. Pepperdine 283-297-281--861 (+9)
2. USC 289-293-288--870 (+18)
3. Stanford 290-293-293--873 (+21)
4. UCLA 289-299-297--875 (+23)
Oklahoma 292-294-289--875 (+23)
12. San Diego State 300-307-288--895 (+43)
SDSU Individual Scores:
t-7. Aaron Goldberg 72-72-71--215 (+2)
t-46. Andrew Scott 74-75-77--226 (+13)
t-48. David Palm 77-80-70--227 (+14)
t-59. Josh Warthen 77-80-73--230 (+17)
t-75. Jamie Puterbaugh 84-82-74--240 (+27)