SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's golf team wraps up its fall portion of the schedule at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, Oct. 18-20 in Roland, Arkansas. One of just six teams in the invitational event on the par-72, 7,500-yard Alotian Golf Club, the event will be contested with 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday before match play will settle the competition on Wednesday.
The Aztecs are ranked 49th in the latest GolfStat team rankings (released Oct. 13) and will be joined in the field by No. 2 Arkansas, No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 39 Arizona, No. 55 Alabama and No. 60 Florida State. In addition to the schools competing for the Jackson T. Stephens Cup team titles, six individual collegiate players representing PGA Works, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the United States Service Academies will also compete in the stroke play portion of the tournament.
Most of the tournament will be broadcast on the Golf Channel, running from 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. CT each day with replays set for 7-10 p.m. CT.
As of Saturday night, pairings for the tournament had yet to be announced.
SDSU last competed at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 4-5, tying for 10th out of 15 teams at 31-over-par 871 in a field which featured 12 programs that made the 2021 NCAA Championship last spring, including each of the last five NCAA champions and nine of the top-25 teams in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin team ratings.
With seniors Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) and Zihao Jin (Beijing/Rancho Bernardo HS) attempting to advance from the second stage of qualifying of the Korn Ferry Tour to the finals, San Diego State 19th-year head coach Ryan Donovan has penciled in the lineup of seniors Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS), Steve Sugimoto (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) and Joey Moore (Billings, Mont.), and freshmen Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) and Jack Townsend (San Diego/Charter School of San Diego).
Guezzale has played in all three tournaments so far in the fall, owning a 71.67 scoring average, which is tied for third on the team among players who have started in the lineup. Guezzale also has three rounds in the 60s, which is tied for the most on the team, and three rounds below par (T-2nd on team). He was the top finisher for the Aztecs at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate from Sept. 10-12, where he tied for 12th out of 90 golfers at 10-under 200. The 200 was the lowest 54-hole score of his career, while his 6-under 64 in the final round was also a career low and tied for the seventh-lowest round in program history.
Like Guezzale, Sugimoto has played and started all three tournaments this year, tying him for third on the team with a 71.67 scoring average among Aztec golfers who have started at least once in the lineup. Sugimoto has three rounds below par (T-2nd on team) and three under-par rounds (T-3rd). His best finish is a tie for 15th at the Husky Invitational on Sept. 20-21 at 3-under 213, including a 4-under 68 in the opening round.
Moore, meanwhile, will be playing on the team for the first time this season. Moore has competed in only one tournament in the fall campaign, tying for 14th at 2-under- 214 at the Husky Individual Invitational with a 4-under 68 in the final round. His 71.33 scoring average ranks third on the team regardless of tournaments played.
Lague has played in two of SDSU's three tournaments on the season with starts in both, owning a 72.00 stroke average with two rounds in the 60s and two rounds below par. Lague made his collegiate debut with a T19 at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate from Sept. 10-12 at 6-under 204, including a 5-under 65 in the final round with birdies on each of the final four holes. He also tied for 69th at the Husky Invitational at 12-over 228 from Sept. 20-21.
Rounding out the lineup is Townsend, who has played in three tournaments in the fall with one start for San Diego State. Townsend, who owns a 73.11 scoring average, ranks in a tie for second on the team in rounds below par (3). His best finish is a T4 at the Husky Individual Invitational (Sept. 20-21) with three under-par rounds (69, 71 and 70) for a 6-under 210. Townsend's lone appearance in the starting lineup came at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational from Oct. 4-5, where he tied for 54th at 12-over 222.
The Jackson T. Stephens Cup is making its debut and is named in memory of the late Augusta National Chairman, Jackson T. Stephens. The Alotian Club in Roland, Arkansas, is the tournament's home course starting in October 2021. The 2022 tournament will be held at Seminole Golf Club, in Juno Beach, Florida, followed by the Trinity Forest Golf Club, in Dallas in 2023.
SDSU kicks off its spring slate at the Southwestern Invitational, Jan. 24-26, at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California. San Diego State claimed last year's event at 10-over-par 874 in a loaded field which set the tone for an impressive spring campaign where the Aztecs ranked in or near the top 25 for the rest of the season.