March 22, 2012
The San Diego State men's golf team is currently in first place after day one of the annual Barona Collegiate Cup at the par-72, 7,393-yard Barona Creek Golf Course in Lakeside, Calif. The Aztecs shot an opening 12-under 348, which was good for third place, but have since risen up the standings into first by nine strokes, as play was suspended due to darkness Thursday with as many as four holes still remaining in the second round.
After the first 18 holes, SDSU had four golfers in the top 27, including senior J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.), who fired a 5-under 67, bolstered by six birdies and just one bogey to tie for eighth place. Spaun was tied for first place through 15 holes in the afternoon at 9-under par when play was called. Spaun's classmate Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.), meanwhile, was only one stroke behind him, starting the day with a 68, highlighted by four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 first hole.
Junior Tom Berry (New Haw, England) and senior Colin Featherstone (Fallbrook, Calif.) each tied for 27th at 2-under par and senior Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.) tied for 55th with a 1-over 73. Freshman Wilson Bateman (Edmonton, Alberta) completed the SDSU starting line-up, which this week includes six players, with a first-round 74 to tie for 66th place.
Aztec newcomer Cameron Tennant (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and redshirt junior Evan Emerick (Carlsbad, Calif.) are each competing as individuals and are in 66th and 107th place respectively after 18 holes.
Kent State, which is ranked 26th nationally, had the low opening round of 17-under 343, and Saint Mary's Anders Engell was atop the individual leaderboard with his first-round 8-under 64.
The two-day tournament concludes Friday beginning at 7:30 a.m. PT. Teams will finish out the second round and immediately start the final 18 holes. The Aztecs are looking to claim their fourth consecutive event title and Spaun is in the running for his third medalist honor in the last two weeks. Live scoring is available on goaztecs.com and golfstat.com.
Barona Collegiate Cup
Lakeside, Calif. - Barona Creek Golf Course (Par-72, 7,393 yards)
Results Through 18 Holes
Team Scoring (Top 6 of 16 teams)
1 Kent State 343 (-17)2 North Texas 344 (-16)3 San Diego State 348 (-12)4 TCU 349 (-11)5 Two tied 352 (-8)
Top Three Individuals (Top 6 of 107 players)1 Anders Engell, Saint Mary's 64 (-8)2 Taylor Pendrith, Kent State 65 (-7) Johan de Beer, TCU 65 (-7)4 Four tied 66 (-6)
San Diego State GolfersT8 J.J. Spaun 67 (-5)T12 Alex Kang 68 (-4)T27 Tom Berry 70 (-2)T27 Colin Featherstone 70 (-2)T55 Matt Hoffenberg 73 (+1)T66 Wilson Bateman 74 (+2)T66 Cameron Tennant* 74 (+2)107 Evan Emerick* 91 (+19)*=competing as an individual