Oct. 15, 2013
SONOMA, Calif. - San Diego State's Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) tied for 10th place on the individual leaderboard Tuesday to lead the Aztec men's golf team during the final round of the Alister MacKenzie Invitational at Sonoma Golf Club. The SDSU junior fired a 2-under par 70 over the final 18th holes for a two-day total of 5-under 211 on the par-72, 7,103-yard track.
Despite recording the third-lowest team score of 281 on Tuesday, the Aztecs only managed to jump one spot in the team standings, finishing in eighth place with a combined 9-under 855, one stroke in back of Oregon and Colorado, both of which tied for the sixth position in the field of 16 schools.
Schauffele's round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5, 587-yard 13th and also included four birdies, which offset a quartet of bogeys. With his effort, the Scripps High alumnus climbed five places to register his second straight top-10 finish and seventh in his SDSU career.
Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) also displayed upward mobility on Tuesday after equaling Schauffele's total of 70 during the final round. The Aztec sophomore drained four birdies and recorded just two blemishes on his scorecard, bogeys on Nos. 4 and 5, to vault nine spots into a tie for 18th at 2-under 214.
In addition, Ricky DeSantis was the third SDSU player to finish with a red figure for the tournament, landing one stroke in back of Michelini at 1-under 215 after firing a final-round 71. Despite three bogeys on the back nine, the Aztec freshman sank four birdies of his own, including one on the final hole to jump five places into a tie for 22nd.
Not to be outdone, sophomore Kevin Ko (Coquitlam, B.C.) saved his best round for last, carding a 70 on Tuesday to match teammates Schauffele and Michelini. After registering back-to-back bogeys just after the turn, Ko closed with a rush, collecting three pars and a three birdies, including two on his final pair of holes to leap 10 spots into a seven-way tie for the 34th position at 1-over 217.
Meanwhile, senior Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.) also represented the Aztec delegation, finishing in a tie for 57th at 7-over 223 following a final-round 77. Kaiser regrouped nicely from a triple-bogey on with consecutive birdies on his first three holes after the turn, but could not sustain the momentum, suffering four bogeys down the stretch.
Host California (-39) easily captured the team title at its home event for the fifth straight year and eighth time overall with a dominant 22-shot victory over runner-up UC Davis (-17), while Oregon State (-14) finished a distant third, followed closely by Brigham Young (-13) and Arizona State (-13).
The Golden Bears' Joel Stalter (-13) held on to his second-round lead to edge Oregon State's David Fink (-12) by one stroke for medalist honors, followed closely by another Cal golfer, Pace Johnson (-11).
San Diego State will now have close to four months off before kicking off its spring schedule on Feb. 17, 2014, at The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.
Alister MacKenzie InvitationalFinal ResultsSonoma Golf ClubSonoma, Calif.Par 72, 7,103 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 16 teams + SDSU)1. California 268-273-284--825 (-39)2. UC Davis 286-284-277--847 (-17)3. Oregon State 287-283-289--850 (-14)T4. Brigham Young 290-274-287--851 (-13)T4. Arizona State 281-281-289--851 (-13)----8. San Diego State 282-292-281--855 (-9)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 78 + SDSU)1. Joel Stalter, California 64-69-70--203 (-13)2. David Fink, Oregon State 69-67-68--204 (-12)3. Pace Johnson, California 66-68-71--205 (-11)T4. Matt Hansen, UC Davis 68-70-68--206 (-10)T4. Brandon Hagy, California 70-64-72--206 (-10)----T10. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 72-69-70--211 (-5)T18. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 70-74-70--214 (-2)T22. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 69-75-71--215 (-1)T34. Kevin Ko, SDSU 73-74-70--217 (+1)T41. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 71-75-77--223 (+7