Aztecs Head to Pauma Valley Invitational

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men’s golf team continues spring play on Monday at the loaded Pauma Valley Invitational in Pauma Valley, California. The Aztecs will play subsequent 18-hole rounds across three days on the par-71, 7,311-yard course layout.

SDSU is one of 11 in the 16-team field that is ranked in the top-50 of the latest NCAA Scoreboard computer rankings, released Wednesday. The field includes No. 2 Virginia, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 LSU, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Illinois, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 20 Georgia Tech, No. 28 San Diego State and No. 42 San Diego. SMU (56), host LMU (60), East Tennessee State (87), Colorado State (116) and Toledo (152) are also playing in the tournament.

San Diego State will tee off from the 10th hole, beginning at 9:15 a.m. PT Monday, along with Florida, SMU and East Tennessee State.

Aztec head coach Ryan Donovan has gone with the same starting five from last week’s fifth-place finish at the R.E. Lamkin Classic, just slightly tweaking the order. Sophomore Harry Takis (Brisbane, Australia), the No. 3-ranked player in the latest Scoreboard powered by clippd computer ratings, will once again be SDSU’s No. 1 player, followed by sophomore Kai Hirayama (Arcadia, Calif.), senior Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand), freshman Beau Sahr (Eagle, Idaho) and senior Tyler Kowack (San Diego/Canyon Crest Academy).

Takis leads San Diego State with a 69.87 scoring average through 15 rounds, logging one win, two runner-up finishes, a seventh and a 22nd. Chokprajakchat, who was named the Mountain West Men’s Golfer of the Week on Friday after finishing third at the Lamkin Invite last week, is second on the team at 73.05, while Kowack (73.14), Hirayama (73.24) and junior Nathan Sampson (Temecula, Calif.) (74.23) round out the top-5. Sahr has a 76.00 stroke average across three tournaments.

The Aztecs tied for ninth at last year’s tournament at 10-over-par 862 in an event that LSU won at -27. Chokprajakchat is SDSU’s top returning finisher from a year ago, tying for 30th at +2. Takis (T-33rd, +3) and Kowack (T-56th, +8) are also back again for San Diego State this week,

Pauma Valley is Robert Trent Jones, Sr.'s first California course design. This classic layout with intricate greens surrounded by the beautiful scenery of Pauma Valley provides a special and unique golfing experience for all.

Following the Pauma Valley Invitational, San Diego State next competes in The Goodwin, March 26-28, in Stanford, California.