March 12, 2013
CHULA VISTA, Calif. - Buoyed by three top-10 individual finishes, the San Diego State men's golf team captured its first tournament title of the season on Tuesday at the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic in Chula Vista, Calif. The Aztecs carded a 290 over the final 18 holes for a combined total of even-par 864 at the par-72, 7,033-yard San Diego Country Club.
SDSU, which led after the first two rounds, slipped into third place briefly on the back nine, before regrouping in time to claim a three-shot victory over TCU (+3) and Arizona State (+3). Meanwhile, Texas Tech (+8) and the University of San Diego (+14) rounded out the top five in the 14-team field. Senior Tom Berry (New Ham, Surrey, England) sparked the Aztec comeback with an eagle on the par-4 17th, while junior Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.) made birdie shortly thereafter to help put the Scarlet and Black back in the driver's seat.
Not to be outdone, sophomore Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) was SDSU's highest finisher on the day, tying for the third position with San Diego's Linus Vaisanen and Finley Ewing IV of Texas Tech at 4-under 212 after firing a final-round 70, which featured four birdies. Kaiser just missed out on a top-five finish after placing sixth with a collective 2-under 214, while Berry wound up in the seventh spot, one shot behind at 1-under 215.
Fueled by a tournament-low 67 on Tuesday, Arizona State's Jon Rahm took home medalist honors with a 7-under 209, edging runner-up Grant Forrest of USD (-5) by two strokes.
The Aztecs' other two starters, freshmen Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) and Robert Gojuangco (San Diego, Calif.), were unable to gain ground on Tuesday. Michelini tumbled 19 places into a tie for 37th at 8-over 224 after posting a final-round 77, while Gojuangco experienced a similar fate, slipping 16 spots into a tie for 51st at 11-over 227 after closing the tournament with a 76.
Conversely, SDSU had three individual competitors crack the top 25, including junior James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.), who tied for 16th at 4-over 220 after firing a 72 on Tuesday. Holley overcame a double-bogey on the second hole with four birdies, including three on the back nine. In addition, senior Cameron Tennant (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and freshman Kevin Ko (Coquitlam, B.C.) both finished in a tie for 25th at 6-over 222. Tennant had his putter working over the final 18 holes, draining six birdies en route to a final-round 70. Meanwhile, Ko fired a 71 on Tuesday, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 No. 8.
The Aztecs will return to the course this weekend when they travel to the desert for the Don Puckette National Invitational Tournament, March 16-17, in Tucson, Ariz.
Lamkin Grips San Diego ClassicFinal ResultsSan Diego C.C.Chula Vista, Calif.Par 72, 7,033 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 + SDSU)1. San Diego State 290-284-290--864 (E)2. TCU 287-290-289--866 (+2)4. Arizona State 302-284-281--867 (+3)3. Texas Tech 289-297-286--872 (+8)5. San Diego 298-293-287--878 (+14)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 + SDSU)1. Jon Rahm, Arizona State 72-70-67--209 (-7)2. Grant Forrest, San Diego 70-68-73--211 (-5)T3. Finley Ewing, Texas Tech 70-71-71--212 (-4)T3. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 72-70-70--212 (-4)T3. Linus Vaisanen, San Diego 73-71-68--212 (-4)----6. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 72-69-73--214 (-2)7. Tom Berry, SDSU 73-71-71--215 (-1)T16. James Holley, SDSU* 75-73-72--220 (+4)T25. Kevin Ko, SDSU* 77-74-71--222 (+6)T25. Cameron Tennant, SDSU* 79-73-70--222 (+6)T37. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 73-74-77--224 (+8)T51. Robert Gojuangco, SDSU 77-74-76--227 (+11)T79. Jacob Gralitzer, SDSU* 78-83-76--237 (+21)
*competed as an individual