May 28, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
First Round Results in PDF Format
In its first appearance on the national stage since 2005, the San Diego State men's golf team finds itself in 16th place after shooting a combined 22-over-par 310 during the opening round of the NCAA Championships at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex on the campus of Purdue University. Despite the seemingly dubious figure, the Aztecs showed steady improvement as the day progressed, shaving 16 strokes off their collective score over the final nine holes on the 7,450-yard, par-72 Kampen Course.
Fueling the Scarlet and Black's resurgence was the trio of Aaron Goldberg (Encinitas, Calif.), David Palm (Landvetter, Sweden) and Chad Moscovic (Stockton, Calif.), who each carded an even-par 36 after making the turn. Goldberg wound up with SDSU's best round of the day, draining a team-high four birdies en route to a 2-over 74. Despite posting three bogeys and a double bogey on his first 11 holes, the Aztec senior remains just five shots off the pace in a tie for 10th with 12 other golfers.
Palm sits two strokes behind the logjam of Goldberg and company at 4-over 76. After making double bogey and bogey, respectively, on his eighth and ninth holes of the day, Palm managed to right the ship with three birdies of his own over the final six holes.
However, the biggest recovery for SDSU on Wednesday belonged to Moscovic, who was headed toward imminent disaster after logging an 8-over 44 by the turn. Moscovic got off to a rocky start, carding a triple-bogey on the par-4 12th hole and a double-bogey on the par-3 17th, but regrouped in time to play even-par golf over his final nine holes to finish at 8-over 80 along with teammate Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden).
Rounding out the Aztec lineup was Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.), who struggled to an 84 after making birdie on the first hole.
The challenging course layout was the bane of the 156-golfer field as only three players managed to break par during the opening round. USC (+9) and UCLA (+9) find themselves perched atop the team standings over Oklahoma State (+10), while Kevin Chappell of UCLA fired a 3-under 69 to grab the early individual lead.
Second-round action at the NCAA Championships gets underway for San Diego State on Thursday beginning at 1:17 p.m. EDT on the first tee. The Aztecs will be grouped with Kent State and Penn State for the second day in row, while third-round pairings and tee times will be determined by team standings. A link to Golfstat's live scoring will be available on the home page of GoAztecs.com.
NCAA Championships At West Lafayette, Ind. Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex - Kampen Course (7,450 yards, par 72)
First Round Team Standings (Top 11 + SDSU)T1. USC 297 (+9)T1. UCLA 297 (+9)3. Oklahoma State 298 (+10)T4. Clemson 301 (+13)T4. Kent State 301 (+13)T6. Illinois 302 (+14)T6. Florida 302 (+14)8. Georgia 303 (+15)9. Washington 305 (+17)T10. Auburn 306 (+18)T10. Charlotte 306 (+18)16. San Diego State 310 (+22)
First Round Individual Leaders (Top 6 + SDSU)1. Kevin Chappell, UCLA 35-34 - 69 (-3)T2. David Markle, Kent State 35-35 - 70 (-2)T2. Tim Sluiter, USC 35-35 - 70 (-2)T4. Billy Horschel, Florida 35-37 - 72 (E)T4. Kyle Stanley, Clemson 38-34 - 72 (E)T4. Joel Sjoholm, Georgia State* 39-33 - 72 (E)T10. Aaron Goldberg, SDSU 38-36 - 74 (+2)T40. David Palm, SDSU 40-36 - 76 (+4)T100. Chad Moscovic, SDSU 44-36 - 80 (+8)T100. Johan Carlsson, SDSU 41-39 - 80 (+8)T135. Matt Hoffenberg, SDSU 41-43 - 84 (+12)
*competing as an individual