PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The San Diego State men's golf team is tied for 13th place at the Saint Mary's Invitational after posting a combined 14-over-par 298 on Monday during the opening round at the famed Poppy Hills Golf Course.
With their performance, the Aztecs find themselves three shots out of the top 10 heading into Tuesday's second round on the par-71, 6,945-yard course layout. Utah (+9) currently occupies the 10th position, followed by UCF (+12), Nevada (+13), SDSU (+14) and UNC Wilmington (+14).
Individually, the Aztecs' Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand), Youssef Guezzale (San Diego, Calif.) and Leo Oyo (Tokyo, Japan) each carded an opening-round 74 to finish the day in a 10-way logjam for 46th place on the leaderboard.
Anupansuebsai weathered five bogeys but grabbed some momentum down the stretch with two birdies at the par-3 15th, as well as his finishing hole on the par-5, 535-yard No. 18.
Guezzale found himself at 3-over for the round following his fourth bogey on the front nine at the par-3 No. 8, before notching four straight pars sandwiched between birdies at the par-5 ninth and the par-4 No. 14, the latter of which ranked as the fifth-toughest hole of the day. However, additional bogeys on the 16th and 18th greens prevented a loftier perch.
Despite birdies on the par-5 No. 1 and the par-3 No. 6, Oyo was saddled with four early bogeys of his own, but managed to right the ship somewhat on the back nine, recording eight pars against one final bogey at No. 16.
Elsewhere, Aaron Whalen (Ephrata, Wash.) and Zihao Jin (Bejing, China) completed the opening round in a tie for 69th after each shot a 76 on Monday.
Whalen tied Guezzale for the team lead with three birdies, including a conversion at No. 18, but was unable to overcome the sting of three bogeys, one double and one triple.
Jin, meanwhile, got to 2-over for the day after draining his second birdie at No. 9, but was shut out on the back nine, where he suffered three more bogeys.
Rounding out the Aztec delegation was Steve Sugimoto (San Diego, Calif.), an individual competitor who finds himself in a tie for 27th after firing a 72. The Rancho Bernardo High alumnus recorded 15 pars to go with a birdie on the par-4, 443-yard No. 10, which ranked as the fifth-toughest hole of the day. However, a pair of bogeys at the par-4 No. 5 and the par-3 15th cost him a steeper ascent.
Fueled by individual leader Peter Kuest's tournament-record 61, Brigham Young (-13) vaulted to the top of the team standings, while Pepperdine (-3) remains a distant second, followed by Arizona (-2), Colorado State (E), San Francisco (+1).
Trailing Kuest in the medal race are Pepperdine's Joshua McCarthy and USF's Soren Lind, who find themselves tied for second after each logged a 68, while fellow Dons teammate Tim Widing is one shot back in a tie for fourth, along with Colorado State's Oscar Teiffel, Arizona's Brad Reeves and BYU's Austin Banz.
The Saint Mary's Invitational continues on Tuesday morning with second-round action, as San Diego State tees off alongside UNC Wilmington beginning at 8:29 a.m. PT.
Saint Mary's Invitational
Pebble Beach, Calif.
Round One Results
Poppy Hills G.C.
Par 71, 6,945 yards
Team Standings (Top 5 teams of 18 schools)
1. Brigham Young...271 (-13)
2. Pepperdine...281 (-3)
3. Arizona...282 (-2)
T4. Colorado State...285 (+1)
T4. San Francisco...285 (+1)
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T13. San Diego State...298 (+14)
Individual Leaders (Top 7 of 103 players + SDSU)
1. Peter Kuest, Brigham Young...61 (-10)
T2. Soren Lind, San Francisco...68 (-3)
T2. Joshua McCarthy, Pepperdine...68 (-3)
T4. Oscar Teiffel, Colorado State...69 (-2)
T4. Tim Widing, San Francisco...69 (-2)
T4. Brad Reeves, Arizona...69 (-2)
T4. Austin Banz, Brigham Young...69 (-2)
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T27. Steve Sugimoto, SDSU^...72 (+1)
T46. Puwit Anupansuebsai, SDSU...74 (+3)
T46. Leo Oyo, SDSU...74 (+3)
T46. Youssef Guezzale, SDSU...74 (+3)
T69. Aaron Whalen, SDSU...76 (+5)
T69. Zihao Jin, SDSU...76 (+5)
^ - competing as an individual
Men's Golf Completes Round One at Pebble Beach
