April 7, 2013
TEMPE, Ariz. - The San Diego State men's golf team settled for fifth place on Sunday after shooting a 2-over 286 during the final round of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. The Aztecs slipped one notch from the second round, posting a 54-hole score of 852 (E) on the par-71, 7,013-yard Karsten Golf Course.
SDSU had two players finish among the top 10 on the individual leaderboard, as sophomore Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) placed eighth, while senior Tom Berry (New Haw, Surrey, England) tied for ninth in the field of 100 golfers. Schauffele concluded the tournament at 3-under 210, including a final-round 70 which featured four birdies, while Berry posted a three-day total of 2-under 211 after recording a 71 on Sunday. With their efforts, Berry logged his fifth top-10 performance of the 2012-13 campaign, while Schauffele accomplished the feat for the third time this year.
The Aztecs' lowest score of the day was turned in by Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy), who fired a 69 over the final 18 holes. After draining a team-high five birdies, Michelini was 5-under through 15, but stumbled down the stretch with a double-bogey on the par-3 16th and a bogey on the par-4 18th. Still, the SDSU freshman managed to climb 19 places into a tie for 41st at 5-over 218.
Meanwhile, juniors James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.) and Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.) suffered a reversal of fortune on Sunday, as both players tied for 50th with eight other players at 8-over 221. Holley tumbled from the 37th spot following a final-round 76, while Kaiser experienced a sharper descent, falling from the 17th position after posting a 79.
Rounding out the Aztec contingent was freshman Kevin Ko (Coquitlam, B.C.), an individual competitor who carded a 78 to finish in a tie for 85th at 16-over 229.
UNLV (-9), which entered the day four shots off the pace, rallied to capture the team title over California (-8) and the University of San Diego (-5), while second-round leader New Mexico (-2) dropped to fourth, followed by SDSU (E).
Individually, Oregon State's Nick Chianello (-11) maintained his wire-to-wire lead to claim medalist honors, withstanding a final-round challenge from Scott Fernandez of Iowa State (-10) and California's Brandon Nagy (-10).
The Aztecs return to the course next weekend for their final tournament of the regular season when they compete in the 67th annual Western Intercollegiate, April 13-14, at Pasatiempo Golf Club near Santa Cruz, Calif.
ASU Thunderbird InvitationalFinal ResultsKarsten G.C.Tempe, Ariz.Par 71, 7,013 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 18 teams)1. UNLV 283-283-277--843 (-9)2. California 284-282-278--844 (-8)3. San Diego 283-275-283--847 (-5)4. New Mexico 276-286-288--850 (-2)5. San Diego State 281-285-286--852 (E)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 100 + SDSU)1. Nick Chianello, Oregon State 64-68-70--202 (-11)T2. Scott Fernandez, Iowa State 69-65-69--203 (-10)T2. Brandon Hagy, California 70-65-68--203 (-10)4. Grant Forrest, San Diego 68-68-70--206 (-7)T5. Kenneth Fadke, New Mexico St. 72-69-66--207 (-6)T5. Kurt Kitiyama, UNLV 67-71-69--207 (-6)T5. Kevin Penner, UNLV 71-69-67--207 (-6)----8. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 72-68-70--210 (-3)T9. Tom Berry, SDSU 66-74-71--211 (-2)T41. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 76-73-69--218 (+5)T50. James Holley, SDSU 72-73-76--221 (+8)T50. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 71-71-79--221 (+8)T85. Kevin Ko, SDSU* 80-71-78--229 (+16)
*competed as an individual