May 29, 2015
NCAA Round One Results in PDF Format | Live Results
BRADENTON, Fla. - The San Diego State men's golf team sits in fourth place after posting a combined 2-over par 290 on Friday during the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Championship at The Concession Golf Club. With their total, the 28th-ranked Aztecs tied for the fifth-best 18-hole team score at the national tournament in program history and remain just four strokes in back of front-runner Illinois (-2) on the par-72, 7,483-yard course layout.
"Overall, a solid round," said SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan. "Our goal was to shoot even par, and obviously we gave away a few at that last hole. But 2-over on this golf course is solid. I'm very proud of the guys and the way they fought all day. And, they all stuck to the game plan. We just had a few hiccups out there, which is very easy to do. But we'll talk about it, learn from it and be ready to go tomorrow."
Despite a starting lineup with no NCAA championship experience, the Aztecs totaled 20 birdies on the day, the second-highest number in the field of 30 teams and had all five players complete the first round within four shots of one another.
SDSU sophomore Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) paced the squad with a 2-under 70, landing in a tie for fifth with seven other golfers on a crowded leaderboard. The Francis Parker High alumnus offset a pair of bogeys with four birdies, including an impressive conversion on his finishing hole, the par-4, 435-yard No. 9.
With his performance, Mendoza finds himself just two shots in back of Illinois' Thomas Detry and Claudio Correa of host school South Florida, who both shot a 68 to grab a share of the lead on Friday, while Duke's Jake Shuman and Anders Albertson of Georgia Tech are tied for third at 3-under 69.
In addition, Ryann Ree (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) ended the day in a massive logjam themselves, landing in a tie for the 35th position with 16 additional players after each fired a 73. Ree shared the team lead with five birdies, including three on his first four holes of the back nine to get to 2-under. After making par at No. 4, however, the Aztec junior ran into difficulty, notching three bogeys on his final four holes. Despite the stumble, Ree remains just five shots off the pace.
Similarly, Schauffele had his round tempered somewhat by a pair of bogeys down the stretch, including one at No. 9, where he misfired on a short putt. Still, the three-time all-Mountain West performer managed four birdies for the round, including back-to-back efforts on the second and third greens.
Meanwhile, Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) and PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii) sit one stroke behind Ree and Schauffele in a tie for 54th after both players recorded a 74. Michelini matched Ree for the team lead with five birdies, but three bogeys and a pair of double-bogeys stymied his advance. Still, the Aztec junior managed to finish strong with four pars and birdie on his final five holes.
On the other hand, Samiere found himself cruising after draining the second of his two birdies of the day on the par-4, 476-yard No. 2, which ranked as the fifth-toughest hole of the second round, followed by a string off six straight pars. However, a double-bogey on his final hole sapped his momentum.
"Nobody was ever really out of it today," Donovan concluded. "They played as a team, played as a unit and that's what I'm really proud about. We're in a good spot; we're in a good frame of mind. They've all bought into the team aspect of this (tournament) and that's all that matters right now. As long we continue to do that and execute, we'll be just fine."
The Aztecs will tee off with SMU and TCU once again on Saturday for the second round, starting at 1:10 p.m. ET/10:10 a.m. PT on the first hole. A link for live results courtesy of Golfstat will be available on GoAztecs.com.
All 30 teams and six individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play (Friday-Sunday). Following 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams, along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team, will advance for one additional day (Monday) of stroke play to determine the eight-team field for match play. The NCAA individual champion will be crowned after 72 holes of stroke play.
2015 NCAA ChampionshipsRound One ResultsThe Concession G.C.Bradenton, Fla.Par 72, 7,483 yards
Team Scores (Top 10 schools)1. Illinois 286 (E)2. Georgia 288 (E)3. USC 289 (+1)4. San Diego State 290 (+2)5. LSU 292 (+4)T6. Florida 293 (+5)T6. Georgia Tech 293 (+5)T8. UCLA 294 (+6)T8. South Florida 294 (+6)T8. Texas 294 (+6)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 156 players + SDSU)T1. Claudio Correa, South Florida 68 (-4)T1. Thomas Detry, Illinois 68 (-4)T3. Anders Albertson, Georgia Tech 69 (-3)T3. Jake Shuman, Duke 69 (-3)T5. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU 70 (-2)T5. Rico Hoey, USC 70 (-2)T5. Zach Healy, Georgia 70 (-2)T5. Bryson Dechambeau, SMU 70 (-2)T5. Ryan Orr, Florida 70 (-2)T5. JD Tomlinson, Florida 70 (-2)T5. Zach Wright, LSU 70 (-2)T5. Riley Davenport, Charlotte 70 (-2)---T35. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 73 (+1)T35. Ryann Ree, SDSU 73 (+1)T54. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 74 (+2)T54. PJ Samiere, SDSU 74 (+2)