March 30, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - Despite logging their lowest team score of the tournament, the San Diego State men's golf squad settled for 14th place at the U.S. Intercollegiate after shooting a final-round 282 on Saturday at Stanford Golf Course. The Aztecs managed to move up one slot from the second round, finishing with a collective 19-over 859 on the par-70, 6,742-yard layout.
Sophomore Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) was SDSU's top finisher for the fourth time this season, trimming one stroke off each of his rounds to tie for the 16th position at even-par 210, including a 69 over the final 18 holes. The Scripps Ranch High alumnus recorded 13 pars, three birdies and two bogeys on the day en route to his fifth top-20 performance of the year.
Aztec senior Tom Berry (New Haw, Surrey, England) also saved his best for last, matching Schauffele's 69 to climb seven spots into a tie for 26th at 2-over 212. Berry started strong with seven pars and three birdies, but could not maintain the momentum, settling for six pars and two bogeys over his final eight holes.
Meanwhile, freshman Kevin Ko (Coquitlam, B.C.) was unable to progress up the individual leaderboard, tumbling 11 places into tie for 44th at 5-over 215. Ko, who began the day tied with Berry for 33rd, overcame four bogeys with two pars and two birdies on his last four holes for a final-round 72.
The SDSU delegation also included junior Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.) and freshman Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy), who both logged a 72 on Saturday for their lowest scores of the tournament. Kaiser regrouped from a double-bogey on his ninth hole with a birdie and eight straight pars to tie for 76th at 12-over 222, while Michelini rebounded a double-bogey of his own with three birdies over a five-hole stretch, eventually tying for 81st at 14-over 224.
Boasting three of the top five golfers on the individual leaderboard, host Stanford (-23) held off TCU (-17) by six strokes to capture the team title, followed by Saint Mary's (-1), the University of San Francisco (+1) and UC Davis (+7). Meanwhile, TCU's Paul Barjon (-11) took home medalist honors with a three-shot victory over Patrick Rodgers of Stanford (-8).
SDSU returns to action next weekend when it travels to the desert for the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, April 5-7, at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.
U.S. IntercollegiateFinal ResultsStanford G.C.Stanford, Calif.Par 70, 6,742 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 18 teams + SDSU)1. Stanford 272-271-274--817 (-23)2. TCU 274-280-269--823 (-17)3. Saint Mary's 273-286-280--839 (-1)4. San Francisco 275-284-282--841 (+1)5. UC Davis 280-288-279--847 (+7)----14. San Diego State 289-288-282--859 (+19)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 96 + SDSU)1. Paul Barjon, TCU 66-66-67--199 (-11)2. Patrick Rogers, Stanford 66-66-70--202 (-8)3. Andrew Yun, Stanford 70-68-65--203 (-7)4. Tyler Raber, UC Davis 69-70-65--204 (-6)5. Cameron Wilson, Stanford 68-68-69--205 (-5)----T16. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 71-70-69--210 (E)T26. Tom Berry, SDSU 72-71-69--212 (+2)T44. Kevin Ko, SDSU 70-73-72--215 (+5)T76. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 76-74-72--222 (+12)T81. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 76-76-72--224 (+14)