Sept. 16, 2013
BREMERTON, Wash. - The San Diego State men's golf team finds itself in 11th place after shooting a combined 14-over par 590 on Monday during the first two rounds of the Kikkor Golf Husky Invitational at Gold Mountain Golf Course. The Aztecs were led by freshman Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.), who fired a 1-over 145 (75-71) to tie for 21st on the par-72, 7,124-yard Olympic Course.
SDSU got off to a slow start during the opening round, as four of its five starters posted a score of 75, including DeSantis, who was making his collegiate debut for the Scarlet and Black. However, the Carlsbad High alumnus regrouped with a 70 in the afternoon, highlighted by four birdies and 12 pars. DeSantis' day also featured an eagle on the par-5, 513-yard No. 14 in round one after notching bogeys on the previous two holes.
The Aztecs' Kevin Ko (Coquitlam, B.C.) finished behind DeSantis in a tie for 31st at 3-over 147, following a second-round 72. Despite sinking two birdies on his first three holes, the SDSU sophomore was plagued by a trio of bogeys on the front nine before closing strong with a birdie and eight pars after the turn.
Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.) landed one shot in back of Ko in a tie for 38th at 4-over 148. The Aztec senior drained five birdies on the day, including three in the second round en route to a 73.
Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.), meanwhile, recorded six birdies of his own on Monday, but could not generate any momentum after suffering 11 bogeys overall, along with a triple-bogey on the par-4 17th during the second round. The Aztec junior wound up with a 77 in the afternoon session to tie for 54th at 8-over 152, two shots ahead of senior James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.), who currently occupies the 63rd position at 10-over 154 on rounds of 79-75, highlighted by two birdies on his last three holes of the second round.
Host Washington (-11) owns a comfortable 10-shot advantage over second-place San Diego (-1) in the team standings heading into Tuesday's final round, while the Huskies' Cheng-Tsung Pan sits atop the individual leaderboard at 6-under 138, two strokes ahead of Brigham Young's Joe Parkinson (-4).
The Aztecs also had two players represented in the individual tournament, which is being contested on the par-71, 6,707-yard Cascade Course. Redshirt freshman Brian Song (Beverly Hills, Calif.) sits in a tie for 10th out of 47 competitors at 2-over 144, while true freshman Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) shot an 8-over 150 to tie for 29th after two rounds.
San Diego State wraps up competition at the Husky Invitational with final-round action on Tuesday when it tees off with Pepperdine and UC Davis, beginning at 8:50 a.m. PT.
Kikkor Golf Husky InvitationalDay One ResultsGold Mountain G.C.Olympic CourseBremerton, Wash.Par 72, 7,124 yards
Team Scores (Top 6 of 15 teams + SDSU)1. Washington 279-286--565 (-11)2. San Diego 284-291--575 (-1)T3. Brigham Young 285-293--578 (+2)T3. Oregon State 290-288--578 (+2)T4. Arizona State 291-289--580 (+4)T4. Oregon 292-288--580 (+4)----11. San Diego State 300-290--590 (+14)
Individual Leaders (Top 7 of 74 + SDSU)1. Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington 68-70--138 (-6)2. Joe Parkinson, Brigham Young 73-67--140 (-4)T3. Rico Hoey, USC 73-68--141 (-3)T3. Corey Pereira, Washington 70-71--141 (-3)T3. Michael Anderson, Washington State 71-70--141 (-3)T3. Ryann Ree, Oregon 71-70--141 (-3)T3. Alberto Sanchez, Arizona State 73-68--141 (-3)----T19. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 75-70--145 (+1)T31. Kevin Ko, SDSU 75-72--147 (+3)T38. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 75-73--148 (+4)T54. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 75-77--152 (+8)T63. James Holley, SDSU 79-75--154 (+10)