March 9, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Golf Weekly Release in PDF Format
SDSU LOOKS TO DEFEND TEAM TITLE THIS WEEK AT FRESNO STATE LEXUS CLASSIC
* Following a two-week hiatus, the San Diego State men's golf team returns to the links this week when it heads north for the 45th annual Fresno State Lexus Classic, March 10-11, in Fresno, Calif. The first two rounds of the 54-hole tournament will be contested on Monday with an 8 a.m. PDT shotgun start, while final-round action from the 6,765-yard, par-72 Fort Washington Country Club commences on Tuesday with the same morning start time. A live scoring link will be available on the home page of GoAztecs.com.
SDSU will be looking to defend its team title at the Lexus Classic from a year ago when it held off UC Irvine by one stroke in a thrilling finish. Bolstered by three top-five finishes, the Aztecs carded a combined 15-under par 849 to take home their third tournament crown of the 2006-07 season.
San Diego State enters this year's event as the highest-ranked team among 20 schools, checking in at the 41st position according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin performance index released March 4. The field also features top-75 teams in Oregon (46), Mountain West Conference member TCU (48), Kansas State (70), Loyola Marymount (72) and California (75). In addition to the aforementioned programs, the Aztecs will also get another look at league foes Brigham Young and Wyoming, as well as cross-town rival San Diego. Rounding out the list of competitors are Boise State, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Northridge, Idaho, Long Beach State, Nevada, Pacific, Portland, Sacramento State, Santa Clara, Texas and host school Fresno State.
THIS WEEK'S LINEUP
* For the first time this season, head coach Ryan Donovan will employ the same lineup in consecutive tournaments as five Aztec golfers are slated to make the trek north to the Central Valley. Heading the list is senior extraordinaire Aaron Goldberg, who will be joined by fellow classmate Chad Moscovic, junior David Palm and freshmen deluxe Johan Carlsson and Matt Hoffenberg.
Goldberg leads the squad with a 71.05 stroke average, followed by Hoffenberg (72.06), Palm (72.36) and Carlsson (72.47), while Moscovic (76.54) ranks sixth on the team.
Moscovic, who earned his fourth start of the spring season, is the veteran of the bunch in terms of playing experience at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. The Stockton, Calif., native will be making his fourth straight appearance, while Goldberg has competed in the event on two other occasions in 2005 (fall) and 2007. Palm was also a participant in Fresno during the fall of 2005, which was his third tournament as an Aztec after transferring from Georgia Southern.
ON DECK
* Following the Fresno State Lexus Classic, San Diego State will return home for its third home tournament of the season, the Barona Collegiate Cup, March 17-18, at the 7,448-yard, par-72 Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif. The seventh annual event, typically contested in the fall, was moved to SDSU's spring schedule after the resort played host to the 2007 Nationwide Tour Championship in October. In its place, San Diego State held the inaugural Sycuan Collegiate Invitational at Sycuan Resort in El Cajon. The Aztecs also competed in another first-time tournament, the all-city SDSU Intercollegiate Classic, in January at the San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista.
GOLDBERG NAMED MWC GOLFER OF THE MONTH
* Aaron Goldberg has been named the Mountain West Conference men's golfer of the month for January/February as announced by the league office on Feb. 29. The Aztec senior earned his first monthly honor of the 2007-08 season and the fourth of his career, becoming just the third player to have won the award at least four times since the conference's inception in 1999.
Goldberg opened the spring season in impressive fashion, tying for second at the PING Arizona Intercollegiate, Jan. 28-29, after carding an 8-under-par 205 on rounds of 67-71-67. In a field of 86 participants, Goldberg was one of just 16 golfers to complete the Tucson, Ariz., tournament in red figures as he notched his highest finish of the 2007-08 campaign.
Two days later at the challenging San Diego Country Club, Goldberg posted his second straight runner-up finish at the 36-hole SDSU Intercollegiate Classic on Jan. 31. The difficult 7,033-yard course layout was the bane of the 27-player field; however, Goldberg was one of only five competitors to complete a round at or below par, firing an even-72 during the second round to finish just one stroke away from the individual title at 3-over 147 (75-72).
Two weeks ago at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii, Goldberg shot a collegiate-best 7-under par 65 over the final 18 holes en route to a 10-under 206 (69-72-65) for the event, where he tied for the seventh spot. In addition to lifting San Diego State to a fourth-place finish in the team standings, Goldberg's effort on the final day was also his lowest score in relation to par as an Aztec and tied three other players in the 110-golfer field for the low round of the tournament.
For the season, Goldberg leads the team with a 71.05 stroke average, which is also tops in the Mountain West Conference among players who have completed at least 18 rounds. In three spring tournaments, Goldberg has been even better, compiling an amazing 69.75 stroke average en route to two runner-up finishes.
Goldberg, who garnered MWC golfer of the month accolades on three occasions during the 2006-07 season, is ranked No. 26 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin individual ratings released March 4.
A LOOK BACK: 2007 LEXUS CLASSIC
* Sparked by three top-five finishes, the San Diego State men's golf team posted its second straight team victory, winning the Fresno State Lexus Classic at the 6,950-yard, par-72 Sunnyside Country Club. The Aztecs fired a 15-under-par 849 for the tournament, holding off UC Irvine (-14) by one shot in a thrilling finish. The two teams battled for the top spot throughout the final round, easily outdistancing the remaining 13 teams in the field with Nevada (+6), Hawai'i (+8) and host school Fresno State (+14) rounding out the top five in the team standings. With its effort, SDSU claimed its third team title of the 2006-07 season and took home back-to back wins for the first time since capturing the Callaway Golf and Oregon Duck Invitationals in March 2006.
After a tough second round, Cory Segall bounced back in a big way over the final 18 holes, sinking eight birdies en route to a final-round total of 4-under 68. With his performance, Segall climbed into sole possession of third place at 4-under 212, just three strokes behind medalist Brian Edick of UC Irvine for his best finish ever as an Aztec. Aaron Goldberg and Adam Porzak tied for fifth place as both players carded a 1-over 73 over the final 18 holes for a combined 2-under 214. Porzak, a transfer from Pepperdine, notched his best-ever collegiate finish, while Goldberg recorded his sixth top-five effort of the season.
SDSU also received a clutch performance from Chad Moscovic, who shot a 33 on the back nine en route to a third-round score of 71. Moscovic improved five spots over the first two rounds, tying for 28th out of 92 golfers with a 5-over 221.
THE LAST TIME OUT
* The San Diego State men's golf team shot a spring-low 13-under-par 275 during the final round to finish in fourth place at the John Burns Intercollegiate, Feb. 20-22, in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. The Aztecs recorded the second-best team score over the final 18 holes en route to a combined 29-under 835 for the tournament, which was held at the 6,917-yard, par-72 Leilehua Golf Course.
Individually, the Scarlet and Black was led by Aaron Goldberg, who fired a collegiate-best 7-under 65 during the third round to jump 23 places into a tie for seventh at 10-under 206. With his effort, the Encinitas, Calif., product walked off the course with his lowest score in relation to par as an Aztec and tied three other golfers for the low round of the tournament. Johan Carlsson, who held a share of the lead after the second round, dropped into a tie with Goldberg after carding an even-par 72 over the final 18 holes.