Aztecs Take 11th at Southern Highlands Collegiate

LAS VEGAS -- The San Diego State men’s golf team finished in 11th place in an elite field Tuesday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas. The Aztecs, who are 22nd in the latest NCAA computer rankings, shot a 2-under-par 286 in today’s final round and finished at 29-over 893 for the 54-hole tournament.

SDSU (+29) beat No. 18 SMU (+31), No. 16 Georgia Tech (+32), Washington (+44) and No. 30 Georgia (+48) in field that had 13 of the top-50 teams in the country. No. 2 Auburn was the only team to shoot under par at -9 on the par-72, 7,510-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club,, 10 strokes ahead of host and runner-up UNLV (+1). New Mexico (+7) came in third, No. 9 Virginia (+10) was fourth and four teams tied for fifth at +19, including No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 11 Florida, No. 24 Pepperdine and No. 26 Texas A&M.

Junior Tyler Kowack (San Diego/Canyon Crest Academy) tied for 21st out of 84 golfers at 5-over-par 21 following a 1-over 73 today. Kowack had three birdies and four bogeys in Tuesday’s final round.

Junior Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand) tied for 34th at 8-over 224, including an even-par 72 today. Starting on the 10th hole, Chokprajakchat bounced back from a bogey on the par-4, 455-yard 10th hole with five consecutive birdies. However, he would finish 4-over for the rest of 12 holes with no more birdies and four bogeys.

Freshman Harry Takis (Brisbane, Australia) carded SDSU’s best round of the day at 2-under 70 to move up 19 places into a tie for 47th at +10. Takis sank six birdies with four bogeys for his round after opening with back-to-back 78s on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

Sophomore Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge HS) shot his second consecutive 75 and finished in a tie for 54th at +11. Oyama’s final round today featured five birdies, four bogeys and two double bogeys.

Senior Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) bounced back from an opening-round 83 on Sunday and a 77 yesterday with a 1-under 71 today, finishing in a tie for 75th at +15. Lague logged five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-3, 177-yard 12th.

UNLV’s Caden Fioroni completed his wire-to-wire victory with a 1-over 73 today, winning by two strokes at -9. Auburn’s Carson Bacha carded a 8-under 64 today - three strokes better than anyone else - and finished second at -7. Virginia’s Ben James (-4), Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert (-3) and Auburn’s Brandon Valdes (-2) rounded out the top 5.  

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.

Southern Highlands Collegiate
Day Three Results - March 4, 2025
Southern Highlands Golf Club - Las Vegas, Nevada
Par 72, 7,510 Yards

Team Standings
1. No. 2 Auburn…287-287-281—855 (-9)
2. No. 31 UNLV…290-287-288—865 (+1)
3. New Mexico…295-293-283—871 (+7)
4. No. 9 Virginia…297-295-282—874 (+10)
T5. No. 11 Florida…307-295-281—883 (+19)
T5. No. 26 Texas A&M…302-298-283—883 (+19)
T5. No. 4 Oklahoma…307-285-291—883 (+19)
T5. No. 24 Pepperdine…295-292-296—883 (+19)
9. No. 50 USC…307-294-283—884 (+20)
10. No. 12 Illinois…302-296-289—887 (+23)
11. No. 22 San Diego State…303-304-286—893 (+29)
12. No. 18 SMU…317-293-285—895 (+31)
13. No. 16 Georgia Tech…303-302-291—896 (+32)
14. Washington…312-302-294—908 (+44)
15. No. 30 Georgia…311-306-295—912 (+48)

Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 84 players + SDSU)
1. Caden Fioroni (UNLV)…67-67-73—207 (-9)
2. Carson Bacha (Auburn)…71-74-64—209 (-7)
3. Ben James (Virginia)…72-69-71—212 (-4)
4. Josiah Gilbert (Auburn)…70-69-74—213 (-3)
5. Brandon Valdes (Auburn)…73-73-68—214 (-2)
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T21. Tyler Kowack (San Diego State)…71-77-73—221 (+5)
T34. Chanachon Chokprajakchat (San Diego State)…77-75-72—224 (+8)
T47. Harry Takis (San Diego State)…78-78-70—226 (+10)
T54. Dylan Oyama (San Diego State)…77-75-75—227 (+11)
T75. Shea Lague (San Diego State)…83-77-71—231 (+15)