SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego State men's golf stars Xander Schauffele and J.J. Spaun are slated to compete this week in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif.
Schauffele, who has climbed to No. 6 in the latest world rankings, will tee off Thursday on hole No. 1 of the South Course at 10:40 a.m. PT, alongside seven-time Farmers Open champion and 13th-ranked Tiger Woods and 10th-ranked Tony Finau.
Meanwhile, Spaun will start two groups earlier on the first tee of the South Course as well at 10:20 a.m. PT, joining Bronson Burgoon and Alex Cejka.
Following a stellar senior campaign in 2015, Schauffele earned a spot on two All-America teams, meriting third-team recognition from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and Golfweek after leading the Aztecs with eight top-five individual finishes, including a medal-winning performance at the Barona Collegiate Cup, where set a school record for lowest score in relation to par with a 17-under 199. That year, the San Diego native also garnered third his consecutive all-MW accolade and second straight all-West Region award.
In addition, Schauffele also owns the SDSU standard for the best 54-hole score in a conference tournament after firing a 9-under 204 at the 2015 MW Championships, where he finished a solo second.
In his three seasons on The Mesa, Schauffele amassed 21 top-10 finishes, 16 top-five placements and two individual titles before graduating with a degree in social science. He also finished with a school-record 71.50 career scoring average in 118 rounds played, as well as the program's single-season standard of 171 birdies established in 2014-15.
The 2017 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Schauffele has two victories under his belt already this year, including a thrilling comeback earlier in January at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Maui, Hawai'i, where he birdied the 18th hole en route to a final-round 11-under 62 to edge Gary Woodland by one stroke. Last October, Schauffele emerged triumphant at the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, China.
Spaun, meanwhile, twice received All-America recognition by both the (GCAA) and Golfweek. He captured five individual tournament crowns during his career at SDSU, which is tied for most in school history with Aztec Hall of Famer Lennie Clements.
In addition, Spaun earned Mountain West Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2012 and garnered three straight all-conference accolades. He concluded that season ranked 17th nationally by Golfstat.com and 21st by Golfweek after leading SDSU to its best-ever Division I team finish with a fifth-place tie in the match-play phase at the NCAA Championships.
Since earning his PGA Tour card in 2016, Spaun has compiled nine top-10 finishes and four top-three placements, highlighted by a second-place performance at the 2017 RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia, where he landed in the runner-up spot at 15-under 265. His best finish so far this season occurred last November at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where tied for third with a 19-under 265, finishing three shots behind Matt Kuchar. Spaun is currently listed at No. 26 in the latest FedEx Cup rankings.
The 2019 Farmers Insurance Open marks the 67th year a PGA Tour event has been played in San Diego and the 52nd occasion in which the tournament has been conducted at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
San Diego State opens its spring schedule next month when it competes in The Prestige at PGA West, Feb. 18-20, in La Quinta, Calif.