SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men’s golf team 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 Southern Highlands Golf Club.
The Aztecs enter the tournament ranked 22nd in the last NCAA computer rankings, released Feb. 26. SDSU is one of 13 top-50 teams in the loaded 15-team field, joining No. 2 Auburn, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 9 Virginia, No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Illinois, No. 16 Georgia Tech, No. 18 SMU, No. 24 Pepperdine, No. 26 Texas A&M, No. 30 Georgia, No. 31 and tourney host UNLV and No. 50 USC, along with New Mexico and Washington.
The first round begins at 9 a.m. PT Sunday.
SDSU is coming off a tie for fifth out of 17 teams at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate at the Ocean Course Hokuala in Lihue, Hawai’i on Feb. 13-15 at 10-under-par 270. San Diego State was 14th after the first round and 10th after two rounds before finishing in a tie for 15th.
Senior Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) tied for eighth out of 101 golfers at 4-under 206, while Harry Takis (Brisbane, Australia) tied for 14th at -3 en route to being named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week. Senior Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) tied for 38th at +3, while junior Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand) tied for 45th (+4) and junior Tyler Kowack (San Diego/Canyon Crest Academy) tied for 58th (+7).
Hastings leads the Aztecs with a 70.83 scoring average through 18 rounds this season. Hastings, however, who is ranked 11th in the latest PGA TOUR University rankings and 23th in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), will miss this year’s event while playing in next weekend’s Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande. Last month, Hastings captured the Latin American Amateur Championship, receiving an invitation to compete in the 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and exemptions into The Open and the U.S. Open.
Chokprajakchat is second on the team with a 71.56 stroke average, followed by Takis (71.76), Kowack (71.94) and Lague (72.93).
Kowack will play in the top spot for SDSU in Las Vegas, along with Chokprajakchat, Takis, Lague and sophomore Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge HS).
The Aztecs are playing in the Southern Highlands Collegiate for a third straight season, improving on a 13th-place showing in 2023 at 9-over 873 to a sixth last year at 7-over 871. Lague logged a top-10 finish last year, tying for ninth out of 75 golfers at -2, while Kowack was a stroke behind (-1) and tied for 12th. Chokprajakchat tied for 21st (+2) and Hastings tied for 56th (+8). Oyama tied for 75th in 2023 at +7.
SDSU previously competed in the 2017 event, taking 15th out of 15 at 41-over 905, and in October 2006 when it claimed both the individual and team titles at the District 7 Shootout. San Diego State shot a combined 30-under 852 on Angel Park Golf Club's Mountain Course, topping runner-up Boise State by 14 strokes. The Aztecs 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.
Florida’s Ian Gilligan won the individual title last year at 8-under 208, while Oklahoma claimed the team title at 8-under 856.
Following the Southern Highlands Collegiate, the Aztecs will play host to their lone tournament of the season with the San Diego Lamkin Invitational, March 10-11 at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, California.
No. 22 Aztecs Head to Las Vegas for Southern Highlands Collegiate
SDSU is one of 13 top-50 teams in the loaded 15-team field.
