Feb. 24, 2009
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. - San Diego State's men's golf team shot a 7-over-par 291 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for seventh place at the USC Collegiate in Westlake Village, Calif. The Aztecs were able to shave two strokes off of their second-round score to improve two notches on the leaderboard. The Scarlet and Black shot a collective 26-over 878 at the 6,869 yard, par-71 North Ranch Country Club.
Sophomore Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) led San Diego State on day two of the tournament, firing a final-round 68 to tie for the 18th spot with a combined 4-over 217. Carlsson began the round with birdies on holes eight, 10 and 12, before a bogey on 14 cost him one stroke. Carlsson was able to make up the lost stroke on the par-5 15th with a birdie and finished his final round with three pars in a row to turn in a 68, his lowest 18-hole score of the spring.
SDSU freshman J.J. Spaun was unable to carry over his first day 1-under momentum to the final round, settling for a 76 over the final 18 holes to finish in a tie for 18th with Carlsson. The San Dimas, Calif. native posted his third career top-20 performance of his young Aztec career.
Meanwhile, fellow freshman Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) moved up eight spots on the individual leaderboard, firing a 72 during the final round to tie for 26th at 6-over 219. After consecutive bogeys on holes one and two, Kang played bogey-free golf the rest of the round, including a birdie on the par-5 eighth.
The day was not kind to freshman Andrew Cooley, however, as the New Haw, Surrey, England, native dropped 10 spots to tie for 60th position at 16-over 226 after posting a final round 79. Rounding out the Aztec fivesome was sophomore Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.), who shaved one stroke off of his second-round score en route to a 17-over 230 (64th position).
Competing as an individual was senior Ryan Citarella (Santa Ana, Calif.), who found difficulty in the final round. Citarella posted 12-over for the tournament, finishing in a tie for 48th on the individual leaderboard.
Stanford, which led the tournament after the first day, improved on its lead to win by 10 strokes over Brigham Young. In a race for individual title, Stanford's Steve Ziegler (-9) bested Pepperdine's Andrew Putnam (-8) and UCLA's Gregor Main (-8) to take the medalist honors.
San Diego State will have a brief hiatus before traveling north to the Fresno State Lexus Classic, March 9-10. The two-time defending team champions will look to claim top honors for a third consecutive year at the 6,503 yard, par-72 Belmont Country Club in Fresno, Calif.
USC Collegiate
Westlake Village, Calif.
North Ranch C.C. (6,869 yards, par-71)
Top-Five Teams plus SDSU
1. Stanford 284-276-279--839 (-13)
2. Brigham Young 275-287-287--849 (-3)
3. California 285-286-287--858 (+6)
4. USC 292-292-275--859 (+7)
5. UCLA 292-287-288--867 (+15)
T7. San Diego State 294-293-291--878 (+26)
Top-Five Individuals plus SDSU
1. Steve Ziegler, Stanford 71-68-65--204 (-9)
2. Andrew Putnam, Pepperdine 68-71-66--205 (-8)
3. Gregor Main, UCLA 68-70-68--206 (-7)
4. Matthew Giles, USC 72-69-66--207 (-6)
T5. David Chung, Stanford 72-67-70--209 (-4)
T5. Brady Johnson, BYU 68-71-70--209 (-4)
T18. Johan Carlsson, SDSU 76-73-68--217 (+4)
T18. J.J. Spaun, SDSU 71-70-76--217 (+4)
T26. Alex Kang, SDSU 72-75-72--219 (+6)
T48. Ryan Citarella, SDSU 72-70-83--225 (+12)*
T60. Andrew Cooley, SDSU 75-75-79--229 (+16)
64. Matt Hoffenberg, SDSU 79-76-75--230 (+17)
* indicates that player is participating as an individual