Sept. 26, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State junior Aaron Goldberg (Encinitas, Calif.) fired a 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday to lead the Aztec men's golf team during the final round of competition at the Opus NW Husky Invitational in Auburn, Wash. Goldberg carded a 4-under 212 for the tournament to finish in four-way tie for fifth place at the 7,304-yard, par-72 Washington National Golf Club. With his effort, the La Costa Canyon High graduate posted his second straight top-five finish after tying for third at the prestigious Topy Cup in Japan on Sept. 7.
Despite two bogeys on the back nine, Goldberg completed his best score of the 2006-07 campaign on Tuesday, sinking five birdies for the second consecutive round en route to his sixth career top-five performance for the scarlet and black. John Wise of host school Washington took home medalist honors with a 7-under 209, one stroke ahead of UCLA's Lucas Lee (-6).
As a team, SDSU also saved its best for last, shooting a 3-over 291 for a three-round total of 23-over 887 to finish in seventh place, one shot behind sixth-place Loyola Marymount and five in back of Washington State, which placed fifth. UCLA led the nine-team field wire-to-wire, winning the tournament with a 9-under 855, followed by Washington (E), UC Davis (+12) and California (+13).
The Aztecs had three other golfers shoot in the 70s during third-round action, including juniors Chad Moscovic (Stockton, Calif.) and Jamie Puterbaugh (Carlsbad, Calif.), who each fired a 1-over 73. Moscovic shook off three straight bogeys on holes 7-9, draining three birdies on the back nine to finish in a tie for 30th with a 6-over 222. Puterbaugh was also able to offset five bogeys and a double bogey with six birdies of his own, moving up four spots to tie for 36th with an 8-over 224.
Freshman Joacim Hultman (Gothenburg, Sweden), meanwhile, rebounded from a second-round 88 to shoot a four-over 76 over the final 18 holes. Hultman completed his first collegiate tournament with a 21-over 237, finishing in 59th.
SDSU will have two weeks off before traveling to Las Vegas, Nev., Oct. 9-10, for the District 7 Fall Shootout.
Opus NW Husky Invitational At Auburn, Wash. Washington National Golf Club (7,304 yards, par 72)
Final Team Scores1. UCLA 280-287-288 - 8552. Washington 289-294-281 - 8643. UC Davis 286-298-292 - 8764. California 287-296-294 - 8775. Washington 293-298-290 - 8816. LMU 294-296-296 - 8867. San Diego State 294-302-291 - 8878. Oregon State 292-292-307 - 8919. Oregon 290-308-298 - 896
Individual Scores (Top 5 + SDSU)1. John Wise, Washington 68-70-71 - 2092. Lucas Lee, UCLA 66-70-74 - 210T3. Louie Bishop, UC Davis 68-71-72 - 211T3. Alex Pugh, Washington 71-72-68 - 211T5. Aaron Goldberg, SDSU 73-70-69 - 212T5. Peter Campbell, UCLA 70-72-70 - 212T5. Craig Leslie, UCLA 71-74-67 - 212T5. Brian Locke, LMU 69-73-70 - 212T30. Chad Moscovic, SDSU 76-73-73 - 222T36. Jamie Puterbaugh, SDSU 77-74-73 - 22459. Joacim Hultman, SDSU 73-88-76 - 23761. John Gray, SDSU 72-85-86 - 243