March 25, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
A 10-stroke deficit heading into the final 18 holes proved little more than just motivation for the eight-ranked San Diego State men's golf team, as the Aztecs posted a final-round 3-under 357 to defeat day-one leader and cross-town rival University of San Diego by seven strokes to win the annual Barona Collegiate Cup in Lakeside, Calif. SDSU, which claimed its fifth title in nine tournaments this season, was the only squad in the 16-school field to end the event under par with a 54-hole total of 1-under 1,079 on Friday at the par-72, 7,324-yard Barona Creek Golf Club.
The Aztecs, who also won last year's Barona Collegiate Cup by knocking off No. 1 Oregon, had four players finish in the top 10 and were led by junior J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.) and senior Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden), who each logged a 3-under 69 in the final 18 holes despite cold and rainy conditions that dominated the day's round. Spaun eagled his first hole and was 2-under on the back nine to finish in a tie for second with Nevada's Scott Smith at 2-under 210, just one stroke behind medalist Glen Scher of UC Santa Barbara. The 69 for Carlsson, meanwhile, was his second of the week and propelled him from 17th place all the way to fourth place at 2-under 214.
SDSU boasted three of the six golfers in the 100-player field to round out the event under par, including sophomore Tom Berry (New Haw, England) who jumped from eighth into sixth place at 1-under 215. Junior Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) notched the team's second eagle of the final round, this one coming on the par-4 10th hole, to end up in eighth place with a 217.
Aztec freshman Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zeland) went from 38th to 22nd place with his 2-over 74, while junior Colin Featherstone (Fallbrook, Calif.) notched his best 18 holes of the tournament to tie for 69th with a 233. Redshirt sophomore Evan Emerick (Oceanside, Calif.), who was competing as an individual, rounded out the winning SDSU contingent in 89th place with a 24-over 240.
San Diego State will take just over 10 days off before returning to action at the Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., April 9-10, at Karsten Golf Course.
Final Scores with relation to par, March 25, 2011, at the Barona Collegiate Cup played at the par-72, 7,324-yard in Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif.
Team 54 holes (Top 5 of 16 teams)
1 No. 8 San Diego State 363-349-357-1079(-1)
2 No. 21 San Diego 355-367-374-1086 (+6)
3 Saint Mary's 368-366-376-1110 (+30)
4 Nevada 353-372-386-1111 (+31)
5 Arizona 361-371-381-1113 (+33)
Top Five Individuals (Top 7 of 75 players)
1 Glen Scher, UCSB 70-67-72-209 (-7)
2 J.J. Spaun, San Diego St. 71-70-69-210 (-6)
Scott Smith, Nevada 69-69-72-138 (-6)
3 Alex Ching, USD 75-64-75-214 (-2)
Johan Carlsson, San Diego St. 69-76-69-214 (-2)
Other San Diego State Golfers
6 Tom Berry 70-73-72-215 (-1)
8 Alex Kang 72-72-73-217 (+1)
T22 Todd Baek 73-76-74-223 (+7)
T69 Colin Featherstone 78-78-77-233 (+17)
T89 Evan Emerick* 77-81-82-240 (+24)
* = playing as an individual