Nov. 28, 2006
SAN DIEGO - - San Diego State men's golf head coach Ryan Donovan announced the signing Tuesday of two prep standouts to National Letters of Intent. High school seniors Tyler Morris (Encinitas, Calif.) and Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.) will begin classes on Montezuma Mesa next September and will be eligible to compete for the Aztecs during the 2007-08 season.
"We are very pleased to welcome Tyler and Matt to our Aztec family," Donovan said. "Both men are extremely bright and talented players who have the potential to make an immediate impact when they arrive on campus next year. Their accomplishments at the junior level will undoubtedly translate into continued success here at San Diego State."
Morris, a top local prospect, is enrolled at La Costa Canyon High School, the same school that produced current Aztec golfers Aaron Goldberg, Jason Puterbaugh and Jamie Puterbaugh. Morris is a three-time qualifier for the U.S. Junior Am, reaching the round of 16 in 2005 during the match-play phase of the tournament at Longmeadow Country Club in Longmeadow, Mass. He has also experienced success closer to home, logging a career-best 10-under-par 62 at Torrey Pines North Course in La Jolla.
Hoffenberg recently returned to competitive golf following a two-year hiatus in which he played cornerback on the Royal High School football squad. He joined the Highlanders' golf team last spring and averaged 71.2 strokes per round. A highly accomplished junior player, Hoffenberg shot a 9-under 62 during the final round of the Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C., on Sept. 24. He finished the tournament tied atop the leaderboard with Peter Uihlein, who was ranked third in the Golfweek/Titleist junior rankings, before falling on the first playoff hole. Hoffenberg also turned in a fifth-place performance at the California State Junior Amateur on Aug. 2 in Fresno.
San Diego State returns to action this spring when it travels to Wahiawa, Hawaii, for the John Burns Intercollegiate, Feb. 21-23, 2007, at Leilehua Golf Course.