Oct. 10, 2006
LAS VEGAS - Bolstered by four top-10 individual finishes, the San Diego State men's golf team cruised to its first team title of the season on Tuesday at the District 7 Fall Shootout at Angel Park Golf Club. The Aztecs shot a 30-under-par 822 for the tournament, winning by 14 strokes over runner-up Boise State on the 6,722-yard, par-71 Mountain Course. Colorado State and Denver finished in a distant tie for third with a 4-under 848, while Nevada rounded out the top five at 3-under 849.
"This was a great victory for us," said SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan. "I'm very proud of the way our guys pulled through this week. We knew this was a shorter course coming in, so we practiced hard on our short game the past couple of weeks, and the results really paid off."
The Aztecs were sparked by the play of junior Aaron Goldberg (Encinitas, Calif.), who captured medalist honors for the third time in his collegiate career after winning a sudden-death playoff over Boise State's Troy Merritt. Goldberg caught Merritt with a 4-under-par effort on the back nine during Tuesday's final round as both golfers completed regulation at 12-under 201. After consecutive pars in sudden death, Goldberg drained a birdie putt on third playoff hole to take the crown. With his performance, the La Costa Canyon High graduate set a school record for the lowest 54-hole score as well, eclipsing Andrew Scott's total of 203 set at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii last February.
SDSU also received an exceptional effort from senior Chris Cole (Abergavenny, Wales), who jumped from the 16th spot into third place after firing an 8-under 205 for the tournament. For the second straight day, Cole logged an Aztec career best for 18 holes after carding a 6-under 65 during the final round, which is tied for third on the school's all-time list.
After entering the third round in a tie for eighth, juniors Chad Moscovic (Stockton, Calif.) and Jamie Puterbaugh (Carlsbad, Calif.) climbed into the seventh position as both players shot a 1-under 70 over the final 18 holes, finishing with a 5-under 208 overall.
SDSU will have the next two weeks off before playing host to its lone home tournament of the season, the Barona Collegiate Cup, on Oct. 23-24 at Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif.
District 7 Fall Shootout
At Las Vegas, Nev.
Angel Park Golf Club--Mountain Course
(6,722 yards, par 71)
Team Scores (Top 5) 1. San Diego State 279-271-272 - 822 2. Boise State 285-277-274 - 836 T3. Colorado State 283-277-288 - 848 T3. Denver 289-277-282 - 848 5. Nevada 285-282-282 - 849
Individual Scores (Top 5 + SDSU)T1. Aaron Goldberg, SDSU 68-66-67 - 201*T1. Troy Merritt, Boise State 69-62-70 - 2013. Chris Cole, SDSU 69-71-65 - 205T4. Espen Kofstad, Denver 65-72-69 - 206T4. Blake Trimble, UNLV 68-67-71 - 206T7. Jamie Puterbaugh, SDSU 72-66-70 - 208T7. Chad Moscovic, SDSU 70-68-70 - 208T52. Cory Segall, SDSU 72-72-74 - 218
*Won on third playoff hole