| TUCSON, Ariz. - The San Diego State men's golf team continued its remarkable season on Saturday claiming the programs' first NCAA Regional championship.
San Diego State, which has been ranked as high as number four this season, won its seventh tournament of the campaign, cruising to a seven-stroke win in the 14-team field in Tucson, Ariz. For the 25th time in school history, the men's golf program will advance to the national championship field in Stillwater, Okla., beginning on May 31. However, this will be the first time San Diego State has done so as regional champion.
"We're feeling very good," SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan said. "We came in to win and did just that. Moving to the next round is great. We had a really good start today. We came out and set the precedent on who we are and what we wanted to accomplish."
The eighth-ranked and second-seeded Aztecs led nearly wire-to-wire, and showed their dominance against the field by posting the lowest team scores in the first two rounds and tying for low score honors in round three. The only time SDSU fell out of first place was briefly on the front nine of Saturday's second round. The five Aztec players responded by posting 18 birdies on the back nine, shooting a collective 11-under on the final nine holes and opening a five-stroke advantage entering today's final round.
San Diego State saved its best round for the final day, posting a 7-under score for the round and a 19-under 833 for the event. The Aztecs defeated their next closest competitors, seventh-ranked Texas A&M by seven strokes, 19th-ranked California by 10 strokes and owned an 11-shot advantage over Pepperdine and tournament-host Arizona.
San Diego State won the title with remarkable depth. All five Aztec players finished the tournament under par and all placed in a tie for 16th or better individually.
Junior Alex Kang led the way, shooting rounds of 68, 70 and 70 en route to a 5-under par 208. A native of Oak Park, Calif., Kang finished the tournament in a tie for fourth place for the second consecutive event. He also finished fourth at the MWC Championships earlier this month. His fourth-place finish is the highest ever in a regional for an Aztec player, bettering the sixth-place finish of Gilberto Rodriguez in 2005.
"I hit all right, but putted badly but made the most of it" Kang said. "My short form is going to need a lot of work before nationals, but I'm glad that we did well as a team."
Freshman Todd Baek finished the event 4-under, but carded a team-best 3-under on Saturday. His 68 in the final round matched his best score this spring and allowed the Aztecs breathing room on the back nine. After playing the front nine even, Baek birdied four of the next seven holes, shooting 33 on the back nine.
Senior Johan Carlsson fired a 1-under 70 on Saturday and ended the event 3-under and in 11th place. It marked the fourth consecutive year he has finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Regional. On Friday, Carlsson produced five birdies in a six-hole stretch allowing San Diego State to regain a lead it never relinquished.
Junior Colin Featherstone finished in 16th place, with scores of 68, 72 and 72. His first-round score of 68 tied for the best on the team and on Saturday he produced a consistent round that featured 15 pars and two birdies.
Junior J.J. Spaun rebounded from a first round 74, to produce subsequent scores of 69 and 69. He ended the event 1-under in a tie for 16th place. A native of San Dimas, Calif., Spaun went a 20-hole stretch without a bogey, firing 8-under from the eighth hole in Friday's second round to the ninth hole Saturday.
The Aztecs advance to the national championships May 30 through June 5 at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla.
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| | Todd Baek.was 6-under on the par-4s during the NCAA Regional in Tucson. That was the second best score in the entire field. | | TEAM SCORES | 1. | San Diego St. | 278-278-277 -- 833 (-19) | 2. | Texas A&M | 281-282-277 -- 840 (-12) | 3. | California | 286-279-278 -- 843 (-9) | 4. | Pepperdine | 284-280-280 -- 844 (-8) | | Arizona | 281-280-283 -- 844 (-8) | 6. | Washington | 279-286-280 -- 845 (-7) | 7. | Oregon State | 284-285-280 -- 849 (-3) | 8. | UC Davis | 287-287-279 -- 853 (+1) | 9. | Texas Tech | 283-284-291 -- 858 (+6) | 10. | Liberty | 280-292-288 -- 860 (+8) | 11. | Purdue | 290-301-282 -- 873 (+21) | 12. | Texas-Arlington | 294-288-294 -- 876 (+24) | 13. | Army | 302-290-290 -- 882 (+30) | 14. | Loyola Maryland | 310-298-295 -- 903 (+51) |
| | SDSU SCORES | T4. | Alex Kang | 68-70-70 -- 208 (-5) | T7. | Todd Baek | 71-70-68 -- 209 (-4) | T11. | Johan Carlsson | 71-69-70 -- 210 (-3) | T16. | J.J. Spaun | 74-69-69 -- 212 (-1) | T16. | Colin Featherstone | 68-72-72 -- 212 (-1) |
| | INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | 1. | Matt Hansen, UC Davis | 64-72-68 -- 204 | 2. | Alex Moore, Oregon St. | 66-69-71 -- 206 | 3. | Cameron Peck, Tx. A&M | 70-67-70 -- 207 | 4. | Alex Kang, SDSU | 68-70-70 -- 208 | | Ben An, California | 73-69-66 -- 208 | | Nils Floren, Texas Tech | 67-71-70 -- 208 |
| | AZTEC NOTES | This marks the fifth time San Diego State has advanced to the national championships since the NCAA instituted the regional format... SDSU also advanced out of regional play in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2008... The Aztecs have won seven tournament titles this season, including six in 10 spring events... The seven victories during the 2010-11 campaign are the second most in the country, trailing top-ranked Oklahoma State, which won its eighth title today... Senior Johan Carlsson recorded the fourth top 20 regional finish of his career (19th in 2008, 18th in 2009, 14th in 2010 and 11th in 2011)... In each of the two previous seasons, Carlsson was SDSU's top finisher at the regional event... Prior to this event, the Aztecs had three top 10 finishes at NCAA Regionals, with the best finish coming in 1999 (fifth place)... San Diego State's head-to-head record this season improves to 155-16... This was the 14th consecutive season SDSU has received an invitation to the NCAA Regional. |
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