April 6, 2014
BRYAN, Texas - San Diego State men's golfer Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) posted a fifth-place finish on Sunday after carding a 2-over 74 during the final round of the Aggie Invitational. With his performance, the Aztec junior completed the tournament with a combined score of 5-over 221 at the par-72, 7,146-yard Traditions Club.
Schauffele was 1-over for the round after notching six pars, two bogeys and a birdie on the front nine, before an unfortunate double-bogey on the par-5 No. 10 derailed his momentum. However, the Scripps Ranch High alumnus regrouped with two birdies compared to one bogey over his final eight holes to register his fourth top-five finish of the season and seventh during his career on The Mesa.
Despite logging the fourth-best team score of the day with a 307, SDSU dropped one spot in the standings, tying for the seventh position with Kent State at 46-over 910. The final round witnessed a 30-minute rain delay before LSU and host Texas A&M wound up claiming a share of the team title with a collective 35-over 899, while Texas Tech (+39) finished four shots behind in third.
Following Schauffele for the Scarlet and Black was Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy), who landed in a six-way tie for 10th at 8-over 224 after shooting a final-round 77. The Aztec sophomore slipped two places from his second-round position after sinking just two birdies against five bogeys to go with a double-bogey on the par-4 18th, which played as the fourth-toughest hole on Sunday. Despite the stumble, Michelini managed to record his second top-10 finish of the season and fourth of his collegiate career.
In addition, freshman Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.) matched Michelini with a 77 of his own, landing five shots behind in a tie for 25th at 13-over 229. After making the last of his three birdies at No. 10, which put him at 2-under for the day, the Carlsbad High product experienced a reversal of fortune, suffering three bogeys over his next five holes, before consecutive double-bogeys on the 17th and 18th put a damper on his round. Nevertheless, DeSantis was still able to climb one slot and crack the top 25 for the seventh time this year.
Elsewhere, fellow classmate Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) saved his best score of the weekend for the final round, posting a 79 on Sunday to jump two places into 68th at 34-over 250. However, senior Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.) witnessed the opposite fate, tumbling nine places into a tie for 58th at 26-over 242 after struggling to an 85.
Ironically, SDSU's lowest score of the day belonged to James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.), an individual competitor who vaulted 23 spots into a tie for 33rd at 17-over 233 following a 73. The Aztec junior was 3-over for the round after posting five bogeys on the front nine compared to two birdies, but finished strong, closing with seven pars to go with consecutive birdies at Nos. 5-6.
Second-round leader Brandon Hagy of California (-4) held on to capture medalist honors with a three-shot advantage over Texas A&M's Greg Yates (-1), while Clement Sordet of Texas Tech (+1) finished a distant third, followed by another Aggie golfer Ben Crancer (+4) and Schauffele (+5).
San Diego State will have one last tune-up before the Mountain West championships when it competes in the historic Western Intercollegiate, April 12-13, at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Aggie InvitationalThe Traditions ClubBryan, TexasPar 72, 7,146 yardsFinal Results
Team Results (Top 5 of 12 schools + SDSU)T1. LSU 298-293-308--899 (+35)T1. Texas A&M 297-295-307--899 (+35)3. Texas Tech 302-295-306--903 (+39)T4. California 302-302-302--906 (+42)T4. Oklahoma State 300-298-308--906 (+42)---T7. San Diego State 305-298-307--910 (+46)
Individual Results (Top 5 of 71 players + SDSU)1. Brandon Hagy, California 71-70-71--212 (-4)2. Greg Yates, Texas A&M 74-72-69--215 (-1)3. Clement Sordet, Texas Tech 74-70-73--217 (+1)4. Ben Crancer, Texas A&M 71-72-76--219 (+3)5. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 76-71-74--221 (+5)----T10. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 72-75-77--224 (+8)T25. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 76-76-77--229 (+15)T33. James Holley, SDSU* 81-79-73--233 (+17)T58. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 81-76-85--242 (+26)68. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU 87-84-79--250 (+34)
* - competed as an individual