May 17, 2014
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The San Diego State men's golf team saw its season come to a disappointing conclusion on Saturday with an eighth-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Columbia Regional Championships at The Club at Old Hawthorne. The Aztecs shot a 4-under par 284 during the final round to complete the tournament with a 54-hole total of 2-over 866 on the par-72, 7,141-yard course layout.
Despite posting its lowest team score of the weekend, SDSU slipped one place from the previous day as Iowa State (-15) and LSU (-15) secured the final two spots from the Columbia Regional in the NCAA championship series, scheduled for May 23-28 in Hutchinson, Kan. Oklahoma State (-33) captured the regional title by five strokes over Arkansas (-28), while host Missouri (-27) landed in the third position.
Junior Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) was the Aztecs' top individual at the event, recording a team-best 68 over the final 18 holes to finish alone in 20th place out of 75 golfers at 3-under 213. The Scripps Ranch High alumnus drained five birdies on the day compared to just one bogey en route to his ninth round of the year in the 60s.
Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.) was the only other SDSU player to log a red number on Saturday, firing a 2-under 70 to end the tournament in a tie for 26th at even-par 216. The 2014 Mountain West Freshman of the Year got off to an inauspicious start with two bogeys over his first four holes before storming back with 10 pars and four birdies.
Meanwhile, Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) finished three shots in back of DeSantis in a tie for 38th at 3-over 219. The Aztec sophomore was a model of consistency early on, completing a stretch of 10 pars and one birdie, before an untimely triple-bogey at the par-4, 411-yard No. 3 stymied his progress on the individual leaderboard. Despite sinking two additional birdies down the stretch, Michelini was unable to overcome bogeys at Nos. 5 and 7, ultimately carding a 74.
Elsewhere, Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) and James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.) could not establish a rhythm after each made an eagle on their first hole, the par-5, 530-yard No. 10.
Despite matching Schauffele with five birdies overall, including three straight to end the round, Mendoza was undermined by three bogeys and two double-bogeys and had to settle for a 72. With his effort, the SDSU freshman and Francis Parker High product wound up in a tie for 43rd at 5-over 221 in his first-ever regional appearance.
Likewise, Holley was plagued by two double-bogeys of his own at Nos. 11 and 15 en route to a final-round 74. The Aztec junior also made birdie at No. 12, finishing the tournament in 56th with a combined 10-over 226.
Missouri's Emilio Cuartero (-11), who began the day in a tie for seventh, shot a 65 over the final 18 holes to capture medalist honors by one shot over teammate Hunter Kraus and the Oklahoma State duo of Jordan Niebrugge and Talor Gooch, who all tied for the runner-up position at 10-under. Meanwhile, Denny McCarthy (-7) of Virginia, who tied for sixth, earned the Columbia Regional's individual bid to the NCAA Championships after finishing as the highest competitor not on one of the top-five squads.
2014 NCAA Columbia Regional ChampionshipsThe Club at Old HawthorneColumbia, Mo.Par 72, 7,141 yardsFinal Results
Team Scores (Top 5 Advance to NCAA Championships)1. Oklahoma State 272-287-272--831 (-33)2. Arkansas 289-270-277--836 (-28)3. Missouri 281-280-276--837 (-27)T4. LSU 289-286-274--849 (-15)T4. Iowa State 293-286-270--849 (-15)6. Arizona State 291-285-282--858 (-6)7. Virginia 285-303-276--864 (E)8. San Diego State 294-288-284--866 (+2)9. Iowa 291-294-284--869 (+5)10. Denver 300-301-283--884 (+20)11. Middle Tennessee 301-292-292--885 (+21)12. Ohio State 308-303-276--887 (+23)13. Loyola (Md.) 308-294-286--888 (+24)14. Bryant 316-316-296--928 (+64)---Individual Scores (Top 5 of 75 players + SDSU)1. Emilio Cuartero, Missouri 70-70-65--205 (-11)T2. Talor Gooch, Oklahoma State 67-73-66--206 (-10)T2. Hunter Kraus, Missouri 68-69-69--206 (-10)T2. Jordan Niebrugge, Oklahoma State 65-73-68--206 (-10)5. Kolton Crawford, Arkansas 72-69-67--208 (-8)---20. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 73-72-68--213 (-3)T26. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 73-73-70--216 (E)T38. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 74-71-74--219 (+3)T43. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU 77-72-72--221 (+5)56. James Holley, SDSU 74-78-74--226 (+10)