Sept. 17, 2013
BREMERTON, Wash. - The San Diego State men's golf team jumped four spots on Tuesday to finish in a three-way for seventh place after shooting a 285 during the final round of the Kikkor Husky Invitational at Gold Mountain Golf Club. The Aztecs completed the 54-hole tournament with a collective 11-over par 875 to match Oregon and USC on the par-72, 7,124-yard Olympic Course.
All five SDSU starters managed to advance up the individual leaderboard, including freshman Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.) and sophomore Kevin Ko (Coquitlam, B.C.), who both cracked the top-20 to help the Scarlet and Black tie for the second-lowest team score over the final 18 holes.
DeSantis wound up as the Aztecs' top golfer in his first collegiate event after vaulting four spots into a tie for 15th at 1-over 217. The Carlsbad High product offset two bogeys with a pair of birdies en route to a final-round 72, finishing one shot ahead of Ko, who catapulted from the 31st position into a tie for 20th at 2-over 218 after posting a 71, highlighted by two birdies as well.
In addition, senior Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.) and junior Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) both registered a 71 during Tuesday's finale. Kaiser made SDSU's sharpest ascent of the day, climbing from the 38th spot to finish one shot behind Ko in a tie for 25th at 3-over 219, while Schauffele jumped 10 places into tie for 44th at 7-over 225, overcoming four bogeys with five birdies.
Rounding out the Aztec contingent was James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.), who sank five birdies of his own, but was sandbagged by five bogeys and a double-bogey en route to a final-round 74. Still, the SDSU senior managed to climb six places into tie for 57th with a combined 12-over 228.
Host Washington claimed both the team and individual titles at its home tournament. The Huskies (-17), who led wire-to-wire, maintained a comfortable advantage over runner-up Arizona State (+1), while Oregon State (+4) finished a distant third. UW's Cheng-Tsung Pan (-11), the second-round leader as well, took home medalist honors after staving off challenges from Washington State's Michael Anderson (-5) and Joe Parkinson of Brigham Young (-5), both of whom tied for second.
The Aztecs also had two players participate in the individual tournament, held concurrently on the par-71, 6,707-yard Cascade Course. Redshirt freshman Brian Song (Beverly Hills, Calif.) shot a 74 over the final 18 holes to tie for 13th out of 47 competitors at 5-over 218, while freshman Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) carded a 74 as well to finish in 32nd with an 11-ovewr 224.
San Diego State returns to the course after a 10-day break when it competes in the William H. Tucker Invitational, Sept. 27-28, at the University of New Mexico Championship Course in Albuquerque, N.M.
Kikkor Golf Husky InvitationalFinal ResultsGold Mountain G.C.Olympic CourseBremerton, Wash.Par 72, 7,124 yards
Team Scores (Top 9 of 15 schools + SDSU)1. Washington 279-286-282--847 (-17)2. Arizona State 291-289-285--865 (+1)3. Oregon State 290-288-290--868 (+4)4. San Diego 284-291-296--871 (+7)T5. Saint Mary's 292-295-287--874 (+10)T5. Brigham Young 285-293-296--874 (+10)T7. San Diego State 300-290-285--875 (+11)T7. Oregon 292-288-295--875 (+11)T7. USC 294-288-293--875 (+11)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 74 + SDSU)1. Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington 68-70-67--205 (-11)T2. Michael Anderson, Washington State 71-70-70--211 (-5)T2. Joe Parkinson, Brigham Young 73-67-71--211 (-5)T4. Corey Pereira, Washington 70-71-71--212 (-4)T4. Trevor Simsby, Washington 71-72-69--212 (-4)----T15. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 75-70-72--217 (+1)T20. Kevin Ko, SDSU 75-72-71--218 (+2)T25. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 75-73-71--219 (+3)T44. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 75-77-71--223 (+7)T57. James Holley, SDSU 79-75-74--228 (+12)