ORLANDO, Fla. – The San Diego State men's golf team will have its scheduled tournament appearance at the Western Intercollegiate televised live by the Golf Channel, April 15-17, in Santa Cruz, Calif.
The Golf Channel will air live coverage of the 54-hole stroke play event at the historic Pasatiempo Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday, April 15-16 from 4-7 p.m. PT and on Wednesday, April 17 from 1-4 p.m. PT. Bob Papa and Curt Byrum will call the action from the broadcast booth. Steve Burkowski will report from an on-course tower, with Billy Ray Brown and 1996 Western Intercollegiate champion Arron Oberholser reporting from the course
The Golf Channel, Topgolf Entertainment Group and tournament host San José State University announced a multi-year partnership on Tuesday to televise one of the longest running men's collegiate golf championships in the nation – the Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf.
"Partnering with the Western Intercollegiate and Topgolf underscores Golf Channel's commitment to raising the profile of college golf and showcasing the sport's future stars," said Tom Knapp, executive vice president, programming and partnerships for the Golf Channel. "The Western Intercollegiate is one of the more distinguished tournaments in college golf that is rich in history, and we look forward to introducing our viewers to this championship and its iconic venue at the Pasatiempo Golf Club."
Entering its 73rd year, the Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf was christened in 1947 and is the oldest running men's college golf tournament west of the Mississippi River. The individual medalist at the Western receives the coveted Blue Jacket, honoring legendary Pasatiempo Golf Club course designer Alister MacKenzie, also the designer of Augusta National Golf Club.
The Aztecs will be making their ninth consecutive appearance the Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf, but just their 10th since 2001. Bolstered by three top-11 individual finishes, San Diego State tied for third in the team standings with USC a year ago, posting a combined 2-over-par 1052 in the six-count-five event. Former Aztec PJ Samiere, who completed his eligibility last season, tied for sixth at 6-under 204, highlighted by a second-round 63, which equaled a tournament record.
Lars Johansson is the most recent SDSU individual champion at the event, capturing medalist honors in 2001 after defeating Jason Higton of Pacific on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. In addition, Kris Moe emerged victorious at the Western in 1983, while Ron O'Connor accomplished the feat in 1960, guiding the Aztecs to their only team title in the history of the invitational.
Other notable winners of the Western Intercollegiate include Ken Venturi (1951, 1953), Johnny Miller (1968), Howard Twitty (1972), Peter Jacobsen (1974), Mark O'Meara (1978), Bobby Clampett (1980), Duffy Waldorf (1984), Arron Oberholser (1996), Joel Kribel (1997, 1999) and Jason Allred (2000).
In addition to the Aztecs and host SJSU, the 2019 Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf will include Arizona, California, Colorado State, Hawai'i, Oregon, Pepperdine, Stanford, USC, UTEP and Washington.
North Carolina (-14) took home the team title last season, while California (-4) finished third, followed by SDSU (+2), USC (+2) and Texas (+4). Former Oregon player Norman Xiong (-10) captured medalist honors after defeating Arizona's George Cunningham and Cal's Collin Morikawa in a three-way playoff.
San Diego State resumes its spring schedule in two weeks when it participates in The Prestige at PGA West, Feb. 18-20, in La Quinta, Calif.