SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men's golf team resumes action this weekend at Arizona's National Invitational Tournament on the par-72, 7,167-yard Omni Tucson National in Tucson, Ariz. The N.I.T. will be conducted with 36 holes on Saturday and the final 18-hole round on Sunday.
SDSU is one of 18 teams competing in the N.I.T. this weekend, including 10 programs in the top 50 of the latest Golfstat rankings (as of March 16). No. 41 San Diego State will be joined by No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 4 Illinois, No. 6 Texas, No. 8 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Arizona, No. 37 New Mexico, No. 39 Houston, No. 45 UNLV, No. 48 San Diego, Colorado, Colorado State, Iowa State, Miami, Nevada, USC, Utah and Wyoming. The N.I.T. will also feature half of the PGA Tour U's top 10 and 10 players ranked in the top 75 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).
The Aztecs will tee off from the 10th hole in the first round of the Catalina Course beginning at 7:20 a.m. PT. Saturday and will continue the second round from the same 10th hole. The tee times for the final round Sunday will range from 7:30-9:30 a.m. PT.
SDSU is coming off a 12th-place finish at the Lamkin San Diego Classic on March 8-10 at 26-over-par 890 at historic San Diego Country Club in nearby Chula Vista.
San Diego State head coach Ryan Donovan has gone with the lineup of Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand), Zihao Jin (Beijing/Rancho Bernardo HS), Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS), Steve Sugimoto (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) and Callum Bruce (Banff, Scotland), while Joey Moore (Billings, Mont.) will be competing as an individual.
Aunpansuebsai has been consistent through the first three tournaments, tying for 20th at the Southwestern Invitational, tying for 21st at The Prestige and taking 22nd at the Lamkin San Diego Classic. His 73.33 scoring average is tied with Zihao Jin for the lowest on the team among the regular starters.
Jin, meanwhile, is tied with Anupansuebsai for the team lead with a 73.33 scoring average. Jin was the Aztecs' top finisher at The Prestige and is tied for the most rounds below par (2) on the team.
Guezzale ranks third on the team with a 73.89 stroke average after leading SDSU at both the Southwestern Invitational (T-3rd) and last week's Lamkin San Diego Classic (T-17th). He is also tied for tops on the team in both rounds in the 60s (2) and rounds below par (2).
Sugimoto is playing in the starting lineup for the fourth time this season (all four events) and ranks fourth on the team with a 74.11 scoring average. He is coming off his best finish of the year, tying for 23rd at the Lamkin San Diego Classic at 5-over-par 221.
Bruce is in the starting lineup for the second straight tournament after tying for 55th at the Lamkin San Diego Classic at 10-over 226.
Moore, meanwhile, is out of the starting five for the first time this year. He ranks fifth among the San Diego State regular starters at 74.33 stroke average.
The N.I.T. will be a preview of sorts for the Mountain West Championship, which will also take place at Omni Tucson National. As mentioned, fellow MW teams Colorado State, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming are playing with the Aztecs this week at the N.I.T.
SDSU last competed at the Arizona N.I.T. in 2019 when it finished in ninth place. San Diego State's previous outing at the N.I.T. came in the spring of 2015, when Xander Schauffele tied for second out of 83 participants with a 4-under 212 to earn his third straight Mountain West Men's Golfer of the Week honor. The former Aztec All-American also tied for sixth at the event in 2014 with a 6-under 210.
The Aztecs have experienced previous success at the Arizona NIT, capturing the team title in 2012 after recording a collective 5-under 859 to clip UNLV (-4) by one shot. SDSU also boasted the individual champion that year, as J.J. Spaun led the pack with a combined 15-under 201 on rounds of 67-66-68.
Arizona State is the defending champion after shooting a scintillating 50-under 814 in 2019, highlighted by Alex del Rey, who claimed medalist honors with a 17-under 199. The top returning teams are USC (2nd, -29), Oklahoma (3rd, -28), Colorado State (4th, -25) and Iowa State (5th, -25).
Four other San Diego State golfers - Jackson Moss (San Diego/Point Loma HS), Liam Koeneke (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines HS), Jack Heath (Charlotte, N.C.) and Amadeo Figus (Rome, Italy) - will be competing as individuals at the UC San Diego Invitational at Omni La Costa Golf Course in nearby Carlsbad on Monday and Tuesday.
Following this weekend's N.I.T., San Diego State will compete in Wyoming's Cowboy Classic at Whirlwind Golf Course in Chandler, Ariz.