SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men's golf team is set to co-host its lone home tournament of the year Monday at the Lamkin San Diego Classic at historic San Diego Country Club in nearby Chula Vista, California. The Aztecs and co-host San Diego are two of 15 teams slated to compete in the 16th annual event, which will feature two 18-hole rounds on Monday and a single round Tuesday on the par-72, 7,033-yard course layout.
SDSU (No. 30) is one of six programs in the 15-team field that is ranked in the top-60 of the latest GolfStat rankings, released Feb. 1. Others in the top-60 include No. 20 Colorado State, No. 34 Washington, No. 35 Brigham Young, No. 54 California and No. 58 San Francisco. Also in the field are No. 61 New Mexico, No. 63 San Diego, Denver, Hawai'i, LMU, Nevada, Saint Mary's, UCLA and Wyoming.
San Diego State will tee off between the opening and fourth holes, respectively, in the shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. PT Monday, and will be playing with Colorado State, USD and Washington. The same four teams will play together in the second round on Monday, tentatively set for 12:30 p.m. PT. Tuesday's final round will also be a shotgun start set for 8:30 a.m. PT.
Aztec head coach Ryan Donovan has gone with the lineup of Shea League (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS), Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands), Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand), Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge HS) and Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS). Competing as individuals will be Tyler Kowack (Del Mar, Calif./La Jolla HS), Jack Townsend (San Diego/Charter School of San Diego), Skyler Ngo (Las Vegas), Liam Koeneke (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) and Rugtahi Thongsom (Surat Thani, Thailand).
Lague leads SDSU with a 70.06 stroke average this season, followed by Hastings (71.06), Thongsom (72.17), Oyama (72.33) and Kowack (72.53).
Formerly known as the San Diego Intercollegiate, the tournament was launched in 2008 primarily as an opportunity for local schools to compete against one another. The event has now expanded from local competition to host teams from all across the nation.
This is the 15th time overall and 13th year in a row that the Lamkin San Diego Classic will be held at San Diego Country Club. The inaugural meet took place at the Chula Vista course and moved to the La Jolla Country Club in 2009, followed by a one-year stint at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., in 2010. Before becoming a two-day tournament in 2011, which lasted through the 2020 season, the event was a one-day, 36-hole challenge.
LSU is the defending tournament champion at 37-under par but is not competing in the event this year. The top returning teams from a year ago include Washington (-29), San Diego (-25), Nevada (-13), Brigham Young (-9) and LMU (-2).
Following the Lamkin San Diego Classic, the Aztecs will compete at the National Invitational Tournament at Omni Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Arizona, from March 17-18.