Sept. 23, 2014
BREMERTON, Wash. - San Diego State's Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) finished in second place on Tuesday after firing a 2-under-par 70 during the final round of the Husky Invitational at Gold Mountain Golf Club. With his card, the Aztec senior climbed two places on the individual leaderboard, completing the tournament with a collective 4-under 212 at the par-72, 7,179-yard Olympic Course.
Individually, Schauffele entered the day in fourth place just four shots off the pace, but could not complete the comeback as Jake Knapp of UCLA (-7) fired a final-round 71 to claim medalist honors, while three players tied for third at 1-over, including Bruin teammate Lorens Chan, Thomas Lim of Oregon and New Mexico's Gavin Green.
As a team, SDSU slipped one spot into the third position after recording a final-round 296 for a 54-hole total of 9-over 873. The Aztecs were unable to keep pace with a hard-charging Oregon squad that shot a 287 over the final 18 holes to tie UCLA for the team title at 3-over 867.
Schauffele got off to a brisk start, draining three birdies on the front nine before two bogeys and a double-bogey over four-hole stretch near the turn sandbagged his momentum. Despite the stumble, the Scripps Ranch High product regrouped with four pars and two birdies down the stretch to complete his ninth top-five finish in a Scarlet and Black uniform.
Meanwhile, Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.), who began the final round in a tie with Schauffele, was not as fortunate, tumbling nine spots into a tie for 13th at 3-over 219 after recording a 77. The SDSU sophomore found himself in a rhythm with nine straight pars, but six bogeys on the back nine proved disastrous.
In addition, freshman PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii) experienced a similar fate, dropping 16 places on Tuesday into a tie for 27th with a combined 7-over 223. Samiere was plagued by two double-bogeys sandwiched between a pair of bogeys on his first four holes en route to a final-round 78.
On the flip side, Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) saved his best for last, carding the Aztecs' second-lowest score of the final round with a 71. The SDSU junior played steady golf for most of the day, offsetting two bogeys with a trio of birdies to rocket 31 places into a tie for 35th at 9-over 225.
The Aztec delegation also included Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.), who tied for the 42nd spot with a combined 10-over 226. The SDSU sophomore was saddled with a final-round 78 after notching four bogeys and a double-bogey on a shaky front nine.
The Aztecs also had three players participate in the individual tournament, held concurrently on the par-71, 6,707-yard Cascade Course. Senior James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.) tied for fifth at 2-over 215 after shooting a 72 over the final 18 holes; freshman Blake Abercrombie (San Diego, Calif.) landed in the 24th position at 10-over 223 after posting a 74 on Tuesday, while fellow classmate Pablo Matesanz (Irun, Spain) fired a 74 as well, shaving 10 strokes off his second-round total to finish in 40th at 24-over 237.
San Diego State resumes its busy schedule later this week when it competes in the William H. Tucker Invitational, Sept. 26-27, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Husky InvitationalFinal ResultsGold Mountain G.C.Olympic CourseBremerton, Wash.Par 72, 7,179 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 15 teams)T1. Oregon 289-291-287--867 (+3)T1. UCLA 296-280-291--867 (+3)3. San Diego State 289-288-296--873 (+9)4. Washington 293-285-286--874 (+10)5. UC Davis 293-287-296--876 (+12)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 75 + SDSU)1. Jake Knapp, UCLA 71-67-71--209 (-7)2. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 73-69-70--212 (-4)T3. Thomas Lim, Oregon 72-74-69--215 (-1)T3. Gavin Green, New Mexico 72-67-76--215 (-1)T3. Lorens Chan, UCLA 77-68-70--215 (-1)----T13. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU 72-70-77--219 (+3)T27. PJ Samiere, SDSU 71-74-78--223 (+7)T35. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 79-75-71--225 (+9)T42. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 73-75-78--226 (+10)