SDSU Tied for Sixth Early at Lamkin San Diego Classic

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- The San Diego State men's golf team is tied for sixth after the first round of the Lamkin San Diego Classic Monday at historic San Diego Country Club. The Aztecs, who are ranked 21st in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, finished at even-par 288 on the par-72, 7,033-yard course.
 
SDSU is tied with Brigham Young in sixth as only five out of the 20 teams shot under-par in the first of three scheduled rounds. San Diego leads the way at 5-under 283, followed by USC (-3), Nevada (-2), Colorado (-1), UCLA (-1), San Diego State (E) and BYU (E).
 
The Aztecs have a pair of freshmen in the hunt for individual medalist honors through 18 holes. Liam Koeneke (Del Mar, Calif./La Jolla HS) and Jackson Moss (San Diego/Point Loma HS) each carded a 3-under 69 and are tied for sixth out of 120 entrants, despite not competing in SDSU's starting lineup this week.
 
Starting on the 10th hole, Koeneke got going with a birdie on the par-5, 485-yard 14th hole, and later had consecutive birdies on the par-4, 367-yard 17th and par-4, 460-yard 18th holes to make the turn at 3-under. Koeneke briefly jumped into the lead at 5-under after back-to-back birdies on the par-3, 236-yard third and the par-4, 461-yard fourth holes. After starting his round with 16 bogey-free holes, however, Koeneke bogeyed both the par-5, 563-yard eighth and the par-4, 427-yard ninth holes to complete his 69.

Moss, meanwhile, was lights out early in his first career collegiate tournament. Also starting on the 10th, Moss birdied each of his first three holes and was at 5-under through six, ultimately going out at 5-under 31. After a stretch of six consecutive pars, Moss birdied the fourth to get to 6-under. Moss ended his round with bogeys on four of his final five holes with a birdie on No. 17 mixed in for his 69.
 
Senior Steve Sugimoto (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) had the best round of San Diego State's starting five at 1-under 71, which was good enough for a tie for 17th. Starting on No. 1 with the other Aztec starters, Sugimoto had three bogeys in his first six holes offset by a birdie on the par-5, 513-yard second hole. Sugimoto settled down with three birdies and nine pars the rest of the way to finish in the red. His birdies came on the par-3, 158-yard 11th, par-5 14th and the 17th.
 
Seniors Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) and Zihao Jin (Beijing/Rancho Bernardo HS), meanwhile, are tied for 27th following an even-par 72. Anupansuebsai had four birdies and four bogeys in his round, going 2-under-par over his final 13 holes. Jin had four birdies in the front 9 and five on the day, but also recorded five bogeys.
 
Callum Bruce (Banff, Scotland) overcame a rocky start to shoot a 1-over 73, which is tied for 33th with, among others, teammate Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS). Bruce was at 3-over through seven holes but got back to even par with a birdie on the par-3, 202-yard 13th. Following back-to-back bogeys on No. 15 (397-yard par-4) and No. 16 (603-yard par-5), Bruce ended his round with a birdie on the 18th.
 
Joey Moore (Billings, Mont.) also competed in SDSU's starting lineup and is tied for 65th at 4-over 76. After a 2-over 38 on the front nine, Moore birdied three of the first five holes on the back nine to get to 1-under through 14 holes. Moore, however, had three straight bogeys and a double bogey to finish his round.
 
Joining Koeneke, Moss and Guezzale as other individuals competing at the Lamkin San Diego Classic are Amadeo Figus (Rome, Italy) (75, T-59th), Jack Heath (Charlotte, N.C.) (80, T-98th), Quentin Hill (Dana Point, Calif.) (81, T-102nd) and Skyler Ngo (Las Vegas) (84, T-110th).
 
The Lamkin San Diego Classic continues Tuesday with the second round, as San Diego State tees off from the 10th hole at 8 a.m. PT.
 
Lamkin San Diego Classic
Chula Vista, Calif.
Round One Results
San Diego Country Club
Par 72, 7,033 yards
 
Team Standings (Top 5 of 20 teams + SDSU) (rankings are Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll)
1. San Diego…283 (-5)
2. USC…285 (-3)
3. Nevada…286 (-2)
T4. Colorado…287 (-1)
T4. UCLA…287 (-1)
---
T6. No. 21 San Diego State…288 (E)
T6. Brigham Young…288 (E)
 
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 112 players + SDSU)
1. Sam Harned (Nevada)…67 (-5)
T2. Sam Choi (New Mexico)…68 (-4)
T2. Devon Bling (UCLA)…68 (-4)
T2. Leon D'Souza (USC)…68 (-4)
T2. Ryan Bisharat^ (San Diego)…68 (-4)
---
T6. Liam Koeneke^ (San Diego State)…69 (-3)
T6. Jackson Moss^ (San Diego State)…69 (-3)
T17. Steve Sugimoto (San Diego State)…71 (-1)
T27. Puwit Anupansuebsai (San Diego State)…72 (E)
T27. Zihao Jin (San Diego State)…72 (E)
T33. Callum Bruce (San Diego State)…73 (+1)
T33. Youssef Guezzale^ (San Diego State)…73 (+1)
T59. Amadeo Figus^ (San Diego State)…75 (+3)
T65. Joey Moore (San Diego State)…76 (+4)
T98. Jack Heath^ (San Diego State)…80 (+8)
T102. Quentin Hill^ (San Diego State)…81 (+9)
T110. Skyler Ngo^ (San Diego State)…84 (+12)
^ competing as an individual