Men's Golf in Ninth after Day One at Arizona NIT

TUCSON, Ariz. – The San Diego State men's golf team remains in ninth place at the Arizona National Invitational Tournament after shooting a combined 5-under-par 571 during the first two rounds Monday at OMNI Tucson National Golf Club.

After opening with a collective 289 on the par-72, 7,200-yard Catalina Course, the Aztecs shot a spring-low 6-under 282 in round two, but still find themselves 13 strokes behind fifth-place New Mexico (-18), while Iowa State (-15) and Colorado State (-15) are tied for sixth, followed closely by host Arizona (-14).

SDSU's top three starters finished the day within two shots of one another, led by Christian Banke (Danville, Calif.), who landed in the 30th position with a 36-hole total of 2-under 142. The Aztec sophomore offset two bogeys and a double bogey with six birdies en route to an opening-round 70. Among his conversions was an impressive drain on the par-4, 436 No. 9, which ranked as the fifth-toughest hole of the day.

However, Banke was unable to sustain the momentum in the second round, grinding out a 72 after sinking just three birdies against a trio of bogeys to slip 14 places on the leaderboard.

Conversely, Leo Oyo (Tokyo, Japan) and Newport Laparojkit (Montebello, Calif.) each displayed upward mobility between the morning and afternoon sessions.

Oyo notched six birdies of his own in round one, but was saddled with a 73, thanks to four bogeys and a triple bogey on the par-5 10th. However, the SDSU freshman minimized the damage on the way to a second-round 70, posting one his three birdies at No. 10 while making 14 pars. With his effort, Oyo climbed four places into tie for 37th at 1-under 143.

In addition, Newport Laparojkit (Montebello, Calif.) sits one shot behind Oyo in a tie for 43rd at even-par 144 on cards of 75 and 69. The Aztec junior was plagued by some misfortune in round one, suffering three bogeys and two double bogeys, before cleaning things up in the afternoon. The transfer from South Carolina Beaufort opened with two additional bogeys on his first four holes of the second round but played spot-free golf the rest of the way, logging five birdies and nine pars to finish with the team's low score of the day.

Elsewhere, Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) and Joey Moore (Billings, Mont.) recorded mirror-opposite rounds before both ended the day in a tie for 59th at 4-over 148.

Anupansuebsai stumbled to a 77 in round one, making one birdie against six bogeys, before rebounding with a 71 in the afternoon, highlighted by an eagle at the par-5, 535-yard to go with a trio of birdies. With his rally, the SDSU sophomore fashioned a gain of 16 places in the standings.

On the flip side, Moore fired a 71 in the first round, where he drained six birdies, including a successful make on the par-4, 404-yard No. 14, which ranked as the fourth-most difficult hole of the day. The Aztec freshman overcame consecutive bogeys on the 16th and 17th greens with two additional conversions at No. 2 and his finishing hole at No. 4.

However, Moore found birdies elusive in the afternoon, carding just one at the par-4 No. 1, before settling for a 77, which precipitated his drop of 35 places on the leaderboard.

Arizona State, which captured the team title at the Aztecs' own Lamkin San Diego Classic last week, shot a whopping 33-under 543 to grab a six-shot lead over USC (-27), while Oklahoma (-20) sits in third, followed by defending tournament champion UNLV (-19).

In the race for medalist honors, USC's Justin Suh (-14) owns a slim two-stroke lead over Arizona's Trevor Werbylo (-12), while Arizona State's Alex del Rey (-11) lurks in the third spot, followed by Sun Devil teammate Chun An Yu (-10) and UNLV's Harry Hall (-10), who are tied for fourth.

San Diego State wraps up play at the Arizona NIT with a shotgun start on Tuesday, when it tees off alongside Washington State for the final round at 8 a.m. MST/PDT.
 
Arizona NIT
Tucson, Ariz.
Day One Results
OMNI Tucson National G.C.
Catalina Course
Par 72, 7,200 yards
 
Team Standings (Top 5 of 16 teams)
1. Arizona State...280-263—543 (-33)
2. USC...279-270—549 (-27)
3. Oklahoma...280-276—556 (-20)
4. UNLV...282-275—557 (-19)
5. New Mexico...280-278—558 (-18)
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9. San Diego State...289-282—571 (-5)

Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 84 players + SDSU)       
1. Justin Suh, USC...66-64—130 (-14)
2. Trevor Werbylo, Arizona...70-62—132 (-12)
3. Alex del Rey, Arizona State...69-64—133 (-11)
T4. Chun An Yu, Arizona State...69-65—134 (-10)
T4. Harry Hall, UNLV...66-68—134 (-10)
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T30. Christian Banke, SDSU...70-72—142 (-2)
T37. Leo Oyo, SDSU...73-70—143 (-1)
T43. Newport Laparojkit, SDSU...75-69—144 (E)
T59. Puwit Anupansuebsai, SDSU...77-71—148 (+4)
T59. Joey Moore, SDSU...71-77—148 (+4)