Men's Golf Readies for Western Intercollegiate

SAN DIEGO – In its final tune-up before the Mountain West Championship, the San Diego State men's golf team ventures up the coast early next week to participate in the 73rd edition of the Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf, April 15-17, at the historic par-70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif.

The Golf Channel will air live coverage of the 54-hole stroke play event on Monday and Tuesday from 4-7 p.m. PT and on Wednesday 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.

In addition, Golf Central, the network's daily news program, will provide wrap-around news coverage of the tournament, complemented by digital and social media coverage.

In January, The Golf Channel, Topgolf Entertainment Group and tournament host San José State University announced a multi-year partnership to televise one of the longest running men's collegiate golf championships in the nation – the Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf.

Along with the No. 67 Aztecs, the elite field features eight additional schools ranked among the top 75 in the latest Golfstat index, including USC (6), California (11), Stanford (16), Pepperdine (19), Oregon (39), Arizona (44), Colorado State (46), San José State (53) and Washington (71), while Hawai'i, UC Irvine and UTEP round out the list of competing squads.

The Western Intercollegiate is a six-count-five event, with Christian Banke (Danville, Calif.), Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand), Youssef Guezzale (San Diego, Calif.), Zihao Jin (Bejiing, China), Steve Sugimoto (San Diego, Calif.) and Otto Vanhatalo (Espoo, Finland) comprising head coach Ryan Donovan's starting five.

San Diego State is coming off an eighth-place standing at the Duck Invitational in its last outing on March 26 in Creswell, Ore. The Aztecs shot a 27-over-par 891 as a team in their fifth tournament of the spring, finishing seven strokes out of the top five, while Banke tied for 16th on the individual leaderboard at 4-over 220.

For the season, Anupansuebsai leads the Scarlet and Black with a 73.05 scoring average, followed closely by Banke (73.11) and Sugimoto (73.17). Last month in Oregon, Anupansuebsai tied for 29th with a 6-over 222, with Sugimoto three shots behind in a logjam for 38th at 9-over 225. Meanwhile, Guezzale (73.61) and Jin (73.94) will be making their first starts since SDSU's own Lamkin San Diego Classic in March, where Vanhatalo (75.22) played as an individual after earning a start at The Prestige at PGA West in February.

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, who also designed 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 1,052. 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.

Anupansuebsai is one of just two holdovers from last season's venture to Pasatiempo, where he tied for 11th with a 3-under 207, while Vanhatalo tied for 72nd at 13-over 223.

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 all, players who have competed in the Western Intercollegiate account for more than 350 PGA TOUR victories and 39 major championships, including past participants Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Tom Watson, Steve Stricker and Roger Maltbie, not to mention former Aztec All-American Xander Schauffele.

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 standout Norman Xiong (-10) captured medalist honors after defeating Arizona's George Cunningham and Cal's Collin Morikawa in a three-way playoff.

Xiong and Cunningham have completed their eligibility, leaving Morikawa as the top returning individual, while 2017 champion Justin Suh of USC is back in the mix after a solo fourth place finish last year, when he carded an 8-under 202. Suh enters the week as the world's top-ranked amateur, while Morikawa occupies the fourth spot.

Following the Western Intercollegiate, San Diego State will have just over a week to prepare for the 2019 Mountain West Championship, set for April 26-28, in Tucson, Ariz.

The Golf Channel / Western Intercollegiate Coverage (all times PT)
Monday, April 15                    Round 1                  4-7 p.m. (Live) / 9 p.m. – Midnight (Replay)
Tuesday, April 16                   Round 2                  4-7 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-1 a.m. (Replay)
Wednesday, April 17              Final Round            1-4 p.m. (Live) / 9 p.m. – Midnight (Replay)