SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men's golf team looks to defend its title at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, which will be played Sept. 25-26 on the par-72, 7,546-yard UNM Championship Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The 54-hole event will be contested over two days with two rounds slated for Monday, beginning with a 7:30 a.m. MT (6:30 a.m. PT) shotgun start, and the final round set for 7:30 a.m. MT (6:30 a.m. PT) Tuesday based on the scores of the first two rounds.
The Aztecs captured last year's title by eight strokes over host New Mexico, finishing at 16-under-par 848 with rounds of 279, 280 and 289. Youssef Guezzale was SDSU's top finisher at least year's event at 6-under 210. The rest of the winning 2022 team will be in action for Ryan Donovan this week, including Tyler Kowack (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) (T7th at 2022 event at -5), Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) (T14th at -2), Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge HS) (T23rd at +2) and Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) (T-30th at +3). Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand) competed as an individual last year and tied for 53rd at +7, and is also on this year's starting five.
SDSU and the host Lobos will be joined by Brigham Young, Colorado, Hawai'i, Kansas State, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, TCU, Texas Tech, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV, USC, Utah Tech, UTEP, UTSA and Wyoming.
Most of San Diego State will be playing with Brigham Young, while Kowack is playing in a singles group with New Mexico and Texas Tech.
This will be the third tournament of the fall for the Aztecs, who took third at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, Sept. 8-10, in Scottsdale, Arizona, and came in 11th at the Husky Invitational, Sept. 18-19, in Bremerton, Washington.
Hastings leads SDSU through the two tournaments with a 69.00 scoring average across six rounds. Hastings, who also tops the team with three rounds in the 60s, won the Maui Jim Intercollegiate at 18-under 195 and followed with a T44 at the Husky Invitational at +3.
Lague ranks second on the team with a 70.17 scoring average, while Kowack (70.67), Chokprajakchat (71.67) and Jack Townsend (San Diego/Charter School of San Diego) (73.50) round out the top 5 for those competing in the two team events thus far for San Diego State. Oyama, the defending Mountain West medalist and MW Freshman of the Year, will be making his 2023-24 debut on Monday.
The Scarlet and Black will be competing in the Tucker Intercollegiate for the 14th time in the last 17 years - but just the second since 2019 - while making its 19th appearance overall. San Diego State has won the Tucker Intercollegiate three times in recent years, hoisting trophies in 2010, 2016 and 2022 to go with second-place efforts in 2007 and 2009. In 2016, the Aztecs posted a winning total of 1-under 863 to outlast Colorado State (+9) and BYU (+14), bolstered by PJ Samiere's (-2) fourth-place individual finish. Meanwhile in 2010, the Scarlet and Black rallied from a seven-stroke deficit during the final round to edge North Texas by one stroke.
The Tucker Intercollegiate, which was named in honor of former University of New Mexico groundskeeper William H. Tucker, is the second-oldest men's college tournament in the country behind only the New England Intercollegiate. Previous individual competitors include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tommy Armour III, Tim Herron, Duffy Waldorf, Notah Begay and Matt Kuchar.
Following this event, SDSU will head to the prestigious Jackson T. Stephens Cup, Oct. 9-11, at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.
Aztecs Set to Defend William H. Tucker Invite Title
