June 6, 2016
SAN DIEGO -- Former San Diego State men's golf standout Alex Kang fired a final-round 5-under-par 67 on Sunday to capture his first professional victory at the Cadillac Championship in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
With his total, the 2012 Aztec alumnus set a record for lowest 72-hole total on the Ping An Bank China Tour Series after finishing the tournament with a combined 29-under 259 (69-61-62-67) at Paul Lila Fei Manor Resort Golf Club.
In addition, Kang established a Series standard with 29 birdies for the week and tied for the lowest 18-hole card with a second-round 61 en route to a six-shot victory over fellow American Paul Imondi and Justin Shin of Canada.
With temperatures soaring into the mid-90s, Shin pulled to within three strokes of the lead on two occasions early in the final round. However, Kang withstood the heat and the pressure, sinking consecutive birdies on the sixth and seventh greens to regain a five-shot advantage he would not relinquish.
A four-year letterwinner from 2009-12, Kang earned all-Mountain West Conference recognition in his final two seasons on Montezuma Mesa, helping the Aztecs to back-to-back league championships and consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. As a collegian, the Oak Park, Calif., native posted a 72.30 scoring average, which ranks seventh on SDSU's career list since 1994, and recorded two individual tournament victories to go with 19 additional top-10 finishes.
In the fall of 2010, Kang set a program record for lowest 54-hole score after shooting a 16-under 197 to claim medalist honors at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Fairfax, Calif. During the opening round of the Bay Area event, he carded a 62, highlighted by five birdies and an eagle on his final eight holes to tie Mark Warman (2003) for the school's lowest 18-hole card. Later that season, he finished fourth at both the MWC Championships and the NCAA Stanford Regional, earning a spot on the PING All-West Region team.
Kang, who is in his first full season on the PGA Tour China circuit, played in 17 events on the MacKenzie Tour in Canada between 2013 and 2014, logging three top-25 placements.
San Diego State recently completed another successful season, earning a berth in the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in the last six years.