Sept. 7, 2011
SAN DIEGO - Three San Diego State men's golfers, seniors J.J. Spaun and Alex Kang and sophomore Todd Baek, have earned their way onto the Golf World 50 Men's College Players to Watch List for the upcoming fall 2011 season. SDSU tied with Alabama for having the most players represented on the list with three apiece.
Spaun advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in Oregon this summer and tied for 20th at the Sunnehanna Amateur in Pennsylvania. The San Dimas, Calif., native was a third-team All-American as a junior at San Diego State this past season, finishing third at the NCAA national championships and winning the Thunderbird Invitational for the second year in a row.
Baek (Auckland, New Zealand) advanced to match play at the U.S. Amateur last month and joined Spaun in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in July. A freshman All-American in 2010-11, he tied for 10th at the NCAA championships and logged seven total top-10 finishes.
Kang had the best year of his Aztec career in 2010-11, finishing second on the team in stroke average, highlighted by a 69.67 mark during the short fall campaign. The Oak Park, Calif., native had seven top-10 finishes and ended up in the top 20 in 11 of 14 events. Kang won the Alister MacKenzie Invitational last October with a school-record 16-under 197, and also came in fourth place at both the Mountain West and NCAA regional championships.
The San Diego State men's golf team has been ranked 14th nationally in the Golf World/Nike Golf Division I College Preseason Coaches' Poll and will kick off their fall season later this month.