Sept. 13, 2005
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Golf Weekly Release
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Aztec Men Open 2005 Fall Campaign at William H. Tucker Tournament at New Mexico this Weekend
• Coming off its second NCAA championship appearance in the past three years, the San Diego State men's golf team will open their 2005-06 season this Friday and Saturday at the William H. Tucker tournament in Albuquerque, N.M.
The tournament features 20 teams, including three of last year's top-25 ranked teams Arizona, UNLV and BYU. The event will be held on the University Championship Course in New Mexico, which has been nationally recognized by Golf Digest Magazine as one of the top-25 public courses in the country.
This will be the first of five fall events for the Aztec men. The 54-hole event will open with 36 holes on Friday followed by a single 18-hole round on Saturday.
Since the formation of the Mountain West Conference, the Aztecs have three top-five team finishes in their opening season tournaments and six top-10 team finishes. The last time the Aztecs opened their season at the William H. Tucker tournament, during their 2002-03 season, when they finished fourth and went on to take second in Mountain West, advanced to the NCAA championships -the Aztecs' first appearance since 1999.
Live scoring will be available for the tournament on goaztecs.com, the official website of San Diego State athletics, or golfstat.com.
Recapping the 2004-05 Season
• The 2004-05 season marked the seventh consecutive time the Aztecs have reached the NCAA regionals. It was also the second time in three years the Aztecs have made an appearance in the NCAA championships, which was held last year at Caves Valley golf course in Owing Mills, Md.
Last year, the Aztecs ended their fall campaign with two individual top-10 finishes and one top-five tournament finish at the Fresno State Lexus Classic when the Aztecs took second out of 15 teams. During the spring, the Aztecs kicked their game into high gear, finishing with five back-to-back top-five team finishes.
After a fourth-place finish in the conference tournament and a seventh-place finish in the NCAA regionals, the Aztecs made their second appearance in the NCAA championships since the 2002-03. Yet, as the second round of the championships came to a close, the Aztecs fell short and failed to qualify for the third and final round.
Relying on Experience
• The Aztecs will now enter their 2005-06 campaign without three of their veteran players - Aaron Choi, Gilberto Rodriguez and Linus Nilsson - who played in primarily every tournament during the spring 2005 season. Despite the change in roster, head coach Ryan Donovan is not worried about the current state of the team, as the Aztecs are entering the new season with great depth from their returners and incoming transfers.
Senior Andrew Scott and Josh Warthen will provide the team with leadership and experience, especially coming off of last year's trip to the NCAA championships. Last year, Scott led the team in stroke average (72.33), set the school record for the lowest 54-hole score (205) and finished with four top-five finishes. Warthen held the third lowest team stroke average (72.85) and chalked up a career 18-hole score of 66.
Junior transfers Stephen Knight and John Gray and sophomore David Palm will also make an immediate impact on the team this year. Palm, in his first collegiate year at Georgia Southern, won the Franklin Street Trust Invitational, and tied for 27th during the NCAA championships. During this past summer, Palm participated in the Skandia PGA Open Challenge Tour, carding a 70-70-65-69 (274) to tie for third. Gray, while at Palomar Community College, placed in the top five in six tournaments during the 2005 season. Knight, a first team All-American player at Tyler Community College in Tyler, Texas, was the 2004 medalist at the NJCAA Div. II championships, shooting a 3-under 285.
Other returners, such as sophomores Jamie Puterbaugh, who recently won the San Diego City Open this past summer, and Aaron Goldberg, who in his first season with the 2004 Aztecs won the U.S. Intercollegiate tournament, will provide much needed winning experience to this year's squad.
Head Coach Ryan Donovan
• After leading the Aztecs an NCAA Championship berth in 2005, Ryan Donovan begins his third season as the head coach of the San Diego Stat men's golf program. Last year, the Aztecs compiled a record of 161-80-4 in head-to-head play after posting a record of 105-66-1 in 2003-04.
Prior to taking over the program, Donovan served as the SDSU assistant golf coach. From 1997 to 2001 Donovan also was a four-year member of the Aztec golf team. The most successful season of his collegiate career was in 2000, when he recorded five top-30 finishes.