March 15, 2011
CHULA VISTA, Calif. - The sixth-ranked San Diego State men's golf team carded the field's best score for the second consecutive round, but was unable to rally from a seven-stroke deficit in the final 18 holes, placing third overall Tuesday at the 2011 San Diego Intercollegiate Classic, presented by TaylorMade Golf and Lamkin Grips. The Aztecs, who posted a final-round 364, trailed UT-Arlington and SMU by just two strokes in the standings with a 54-hole total of 15-over 1,095 at the par-72, 7,050-yard San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif.
Although UT-Arlington and SMU both came in at 13-over 1,093 for the tournament, the Mustangs earned the outright nod in the tiebreak, as their No. 6 player's final-round score was lower than that of the Mavericks. UT-Arlington's Paul McConnell, however, claimed medalist honors, moving from fourth into first place with his 2-under 70 for a one-stroke victory over SMU's Kelly Kraft at 214.
San Diego State had four golfers in the top 15 on the individual leaderboard, including freshman Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zealand), who posted a final-round 73 to tie for seventh place at 2-over 218. Aztec juniors J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.) and Colin Featherstone (Fallbrook, Calif.) tied for 11th place with a 219, while senior Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) moved up 10 slots in the final 18 holes with his even-par 72 to tie for 14th place with a 221.
Junior Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) fired his second 76 of the San Diego Collegiate to end up tied for 17th with a 222, while sophomore Tom Berry (New Haw, England) was one of three Aztecs to card a final-round 72, jumping 11 spots to tie for 28th place at 9-over 225. Redshirt sophomore Evan Emerick (Oceanside, Calif.), playing as an individual, rounded out the SDSU contingent in 52nd place with a 234, capped by his best effort of the tournament with a 4-over 76.
SDSU will take just over a week off before playing host to 16-team Barona Collegiate Cup, March 24-25, at the Barona Creek Golf Course in Lakeside, Calif.
Final Scores with relation to par, March 15, 2011, at the 2011 San Diego Intercollegiate Classic played at the par-72, 7,050-yard San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif.
Final Results - 54 holes (Top 5 of 12 teams)
1 SMU^ 360-364-366-1093 (+13)
Texas-Arlington 360-367-369-1093 (+13)
3 No. 6 San Diego St. 369-362-364-1095 (+15)
4 No. 19 USD 371-364-375-1110 (+30)
5 Fresno State 365-381-367-1113 (+33)
^ = won on a tiebreaker
Top Five Individuals (Top 4 of 75 players)
1 Paul McConnell, UT-A 72-72-70-214 (-2)
2 Kelly Kraft, SMU 70-69-76-215 (-1)
3 Wes Worster, UT-A 74-71-71-216 (E)
Aaron Stewart, SMU 68-75-73-216 (E)
San Diego State Golfers
T7 Todd Baek 76-70-73-218 (+2)
T11 Colin Featherstone 73-71-75-219 (+3)
T11 J.J. Spaun 76-71-72-219 (+3)
T14 Johan Carlsson 74-75-72-221 (+5)
T17 Alex Kang 76-70-76-222 (+6)
T28 Tom Berry 77-76-72-225 (+9)
T52 Evan Emerick* 78-80-76-234 (+18)
* = playing as an individual