Oct. 9, 2007
FAIRFAX, Calif. - Down 11 strokes entering the final 18 holes, the San Diego State men's golf team shot an 8-under 276 on Tuesday to capture its first fall tournament crown of the season at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif. Three Aztecs, led by junior David Palm who shot a fall-low round of 67 (-4), finished the day with rounds under par to help SDSU overcome six teams that were ahead of them after 36 holes at the at the Par-71, 6,686-yard Meadow Club.
No. 45 SDSU surpassed No. 36 Washington and UC Irvine during the final eight holes to claim medalist honors. The Huskies began the day seven shots ahead of second-place Louisville, ranked No. 26, and No. 47 UC Davis. Washington struggled to hold onto the lead after firing a 7-over 291 in the final round.
"We are very excited to win this tournament in the come-from-behind fashion that we did," head coach Ryan Donovan said. "It was cold and windy today and our guys were focused and played some of their best golf of the fall."
The top performer during the day's comeback was Palm. The native of Landvetter, Sweden, saved his best round of the fall for the final 18 carding a 67, one stroke off his career low of 66 accomplished at the 2006 ASU Thunderbird Invitational. Palm, who sat all of last year after back surgery, finished in a three-way tie for 15th with a three-round score of 208 (-5).
Continuing their stellar play from the first two rounds and climbing the individual leaderboard as well was senior All-American Aaron Goldberg and freshman Johan Carlsson. The duo began the day tied for 15th after shooting 136 through 36 holes. Goldberg shot a 3-under 68 to move up to third place, while Carlsson fired a 2-under 69 to ascend to a four-way tie for fourth. The 56-hole score of 204 for Goldberg and the 205 for Carlsson each were season lows while both recorded their second top-five finish of the fall.
The duo finished four and five strokes back, respectively, behind individual medalist Daryl Fathauer of Louisville who finished with a three-round total of 200 (-13).
Freshman Matt Hoffenberg continued his solid play by firing a 1-over 72 in the final round to give him a score of 212 over 56 holes, his lowest of the year. The Simi Valley, Calif., native finished the invitational in a tie for 32nd.
Rounding out the scores for SDSU was senior Jamie Puterbaugh. The Carlsbad, Calif., native shot a 75 (+4) on Tuesday. Puterbaugh ended in a tie for 56th with a 4-over 217 score for the tournament. San Diego State will wrap up its fall slate on Mon., Oct. 22, when the team hosts the Sycuan Collegiate Invitational at the Sycuan Resort and Golf Course in El Cajon, Calif.
Alister MacKenzie Invitational, Fairfax, Calif. (81 players participated)
3. - Aaron Goldberg - 70-66-68-204 (-9)
T.4 - Johan Carlsson - 70-66-69-205 (-8)
T. 15 - David Palm - 71-70-67-208 (-5)
T. 32 - Matt Hoffenberg - 70-70-72 -212 (-1)
T. 56 - Jamie Puterbaugh - 73-69-75-217 (+4)
Alister MacKenzie Invitational, Fairfax, Calif. (16 teams participated)
1. - San Diego State - 281-271-276-828 (-24)
2. - Washington - 273-268-291-832 (-20)
3. - UC Irvine - 276-277-280-833 (-19)
T. 4 - Oregon - 282-277-277 -836 (-16)
T. 4 - Fresno State - 271-280-285-836 (+16)