Feb. 17, 2016
Final PDF Results | Final Results
LA QUINTA, Calif. ââ'¬" Buoyed by three top-eight individual performances, the 23rd-ranked San Diego State men's golf team finished in third place on Wednesday after posting a collective 5-under-par 279 during the final round of The Prestige at PGA WEST.
With their total, the Aztecs climbed one additional spot from the previous day, completing the tournament with a 54-hole score of 4-under 848 on the par-71, 7,046-yard Greg Norman Course.
SDSU was paced by Ryann Ree (Redondo Beach, Calif.), who fired a final-round 69 to finish alone in the runner-up position at 10-under 203. The Aztec senior was the clubhouse leader after sinking five birdies, including a successful conversion on the par-5, 537-yard No. 16, to get to 4-under for the day. However, Ree promptly gave two strokes back with an untimely double-bogey on the par-4, 461-yard 18th, leaving the door open for LSU's Zach Wright to claim medalist honors.
Wright completed his last five holes of the afternoon with three birdies and two pars for a final-round 67, grabbing the individual title by two shots at 12-under 201. Despite the hiccup, however, Ree still managed his highest finish in a Scarlet and Black uniform, helping SDSU to its fifth consecutive top-five team placement of the 2015-16 campaign.
The Aztecs' lowest score of the day belonged to Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy), who vaulted 17 places into a tie for eighth at 2-under 211 after carding a 67 over the final 18 holes. The SDSU senior tied for the team lead with five birdies of his own, featuring an impressive make on the par-4, 477-yard No. 3, which ranked as the fourth-toughest hole on Wednesday. With his result, Michelini logged his fourth top-10 finish of the season and 10th of his career.
Junior Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) also jumped four additional places into the eighth position after shooting a 70. The Francis Parker High product played spot-free golf over his final eight holes, notching six pars and two birdies to complete the sixth top-10 effort of his career.
Conversely, Gunn Yang (Pyeongchang, South Korea) was unable to make a move up the leaderboard Wednesday, slipping two places into a tie for 53rd following a final-round 73. The Aztec sophomore got off to a quick start with birdies on the second and fourth greens until a double-bogey at No. 5 quickly snuffed out his momentum. Despite carding 11 pars against two bogeys the rest of the way, birdies proved to be elusive for Yang, who finished the tournament at 10-over 223.
Elsewhere, senior Michael Koeneke (San Diego, Calif.) completed his first varsity start in tie for 73rd at 22-over 235 after firing an 80 on Wednesday. Koeneke's round was highlighted by three birdies, including back-to-back conversions on the 10th and 11th holes.
LSU (-26) dominated the field during the final round, shooting a combined 19-under 265 to soar past second-round leader Arizona State (-8), while SDSU (-4), Pepperdine (E) and USC (+5) rounded out the top five.
The Aztecs will return to action for the Southwestern Jones Invitational, Feb. 29-March 1, at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.
The Prestige at PGA WEST
Final Results
Greg Norman Course
La Quinta, Calif.
Par 71, 7,046 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 15 schools)
1. LSU ... 277-284-265-826 (-26)
2. Arizona State ... 287-269-288-844 (-8)
3. San Diego State ... 294-275-279-848 (-4)
4. Pepperdine ... 290-282-280-852 (E)
5. USC ... 285-293-279-857 (+5)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 81 players + SDSU)
1. Zach Wright, LSU ... 68-66-67-201 (-12)
2. Ryann Ree, SDSU ... 68-66-69-203 (-10)
T3. Frederick Wedel, Pepperdine ... 66-68-71-205 (-8)
T3. Jon Rahm, Arizona State ... 70-66-69-205 (-8)
T4. Rico Hoey, USC ... 68-71-68-207 (-6)
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T8. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU ... 74-70-67-211 (-2)
T8. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU ... 73-66-70-211 (-2)
T53. Gunn Yang, SDSU ... 79-71-73-223 (+10)
T73. Michael Koeneke, SDSU ... 79-76-80-235 (+22)