SAN DIEGO -- No. 25 San Diego State men's golf returns to action Sunday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas. The three-day event will feature 18-hole rounds on the par-72, 7,510-yard course.
The Aztecs enter the tournament ranked 25th in the latest GolfStat computer rankings, released Feb. 21. The 15-team field also includes No. 4 North Carolina, No. 7 Illinois, No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 11 Florida, No. 14 Pepperdine, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Texas, Georgia, New Mexico, SMU, TCU, UCF and host UNLV. The first round begins at 9 a.m. PT Sunday.
SDSU is coming off a fifth-place finish at the John Burns Intercollegiate at the Ocean Course Hokuala in Lihue, Hawai'i on Feb. 16-17. San Diego State was in last for most of the first day of the tournament but rallied for a 19-under-par 269 to vault up seven places into fifth for the tournament that was condensed to two days (still three rounds) because of approaching rain.
Sophomore Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) led the way at 11-under to finish ninth out of 126 golfers. Classmate Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) tied for 14th at 9-under, while freshmen Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand) and Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge HS) came in tie for 45th and a tie for 58th, respectively, at -2 and -1. Senior Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS), meanwhile, tied for 84th at +3.
Lague leads the Aztecs with a 69.53 scoring average through five tournaments and 15 rounds. Lague is the only SDSU player to count in scoring in all 15 rounds, and has shot under par in a team-high 12 rounds. Lague, who is ranked 28th in the latest GolfStat individual ratings (Feb. 21), is also tied for the team lead with Hastings with six rounds in the 60s.
Hastings ranks second on the team at 70.60, while freshman Tyler Kowack (Del Mar, Calif./La Jolla HS) (71.68), Oyama (71.93) and Chokprajakchat (72.67) round out the top 5.
San Diego State head coach Ryan Donovan has gone with the lineup of Lague, Hastings, Chokprajakchat, Oyama and Kowack for this weekend's tournament.
The Aztecs are playing in the Southern Highlands Collegiate for the first time since taking 15th out of 15 teams in the 2017 event at 41-over 905 and for just the second time since October 2006 when they claimed both the individual and team titles at the District 7 Shootout. SDSU shot a combined 30-under 852 on Angel Park Golf Club's Mountain Course, topping runner-up Boise State by 14 strokes. San Diego State also boasted four top-10 individual finishes, including medalist Aaron Goldberg, who carded a then-school record 201 in regulation before defeating Boise State's Troy Merritt on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Oklahoma's Patrick Welch is back to defend his title he won last year while playing for Georgia Tech at 14-under 202. The Sooners also captured the team title at 38-under 826. For the third time, the individual champion will receive an exemption into the Shriners Children's Open, which will take place Oct. 12-15, 2023, at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
Following the Southern Highlands Collegiate, the Aztecs will play host to their lone tournament of the season with the Lamkin San Diego Classic, March 6-7.