Oct. 1, 2011
Tucker Intercollegiate Results
The 14th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team moved up one slot into third place with a final-round 296 Saturday at the 57th annual William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M. The Aztecs finished their season opener with a 54-hole total of 19-over 883, trailing second-place and host New Mexico by 12 strokes and first-place UNLV by 16 strokes at the par-72, 7,562-yard University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.
SDSU had two players finish in the top 15 on the individual leaderboard. Senior J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.) was at 5-over par with just five holes to go, but then notched three birdies and two pars to end the tournament in a tie for ninth place at 2-over 218. Freshman Wilson Bateman (Edmonton, Alberta), competing in his first collegiate event, notched his best 18 holes of the week with three birdies against three bogeys for an even-par 72. The effort moved him from 20th into a tie for 14th place at 4-over 220.
Aztec sophomore Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zealand) also climbed the leaderboard on the final day, jumping from 29th into 24th with a 7-over 223, including a 2-over 74 on Saturday. Playing in his first tournament since the 2009-10 campaign, redshirt senior Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.) matched Bateman's even-par 72 to vault him from 47th into 24th with Baek. Hoffenberg, who was competing as an individual, was at 4-under through the first eight holes, but then notched four bogeys over a five-hole span before ending with five consecutive pars.
SDSU senior Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) birdied his first hole of the day, before bogeying the fifth, seventh and ninth holes and double bogeying the eighth and 11th holes. Kang, however, bounced back with seven pars and a birdie to complete the round at 5-over 77, sliding from 20th into a tie for 34th with a 225.
Junior Tom Berry (New Haw, England) was two strokes behind Kang with an 11-over 227, including a 4-over 76 on Saturday to tie for 41st and round out the Aztec starting five.
BYU's Zachary Blair held onto his day one lead, winning medalist honors by four strokes over runner-up James Erkenbeck of New Mexico with a 7-under 209.
The Aztecs will have eight days off before their next fall tournament, The Prestige at PGA West, Oct. 9-11., in La Quinta, Calif.
Scores with relation to par, Oct. 1, 2011, at the 57th William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, played at the par-72, 7,562-yard University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M.
Team Scoring (Top 6 of 16 teams)
1 UNLV 292-288-287-867 (+3)2 New Mexico 299-282-290-871 (+7)4 San Diego State 295-292-296-883 (+19)5 Arizona 295-291-299-885 (+21) North Texas 296-292-297-885 (+21)
Top Four Individuals (Top 4 of 96 players)1 Zachary Blair, BYU 69-70-70-209 (-7)2 James Erkenbeck, UNM 71-69-73-213 (-3)3 Derek Ernst, UNLV 69-73-73-215 (-1) Carlos Ortiz, UNT 73-70-72-215 (-1)
San Diego StateT9 J.J. Spaun 73-71-74-218 (+2)T14 Wilson Bateman 74-74-72-220 (+4)T24 Todd Baek 76-73-74-223 (+7)T24 Matt Hoffenberg* 78-73-72-223 (+7)T34 Alex Kang 72-76-77-225 (+9)T41 Tom Berry 77-74-76-227 (+11)*=Competing as an individual