Men's Golf

Aztec Golfers Visit Oregon This Week for the Competitive Duck Invitational

Aztec Golfers Visit Oregon This Week for the Competitive Duck InvitationalAztec Golfers Visit Oregon This Week for the Competitive Duck Invitational

March 26, 2007

SAN DIEGO -

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AZTEC GOLFERS VISIT OREGON THIS WEEK FOR THE COMPETITIVE DUCK INVITATIONAL

  • After a well-deserved break, San Diego State returns to the fairways this week when it heads north for the Oregon Duck Invitational, March 26-27, in Eugene, Ore. The first two rounds of the 54-hole tournament are slated to get underway on Monday, beginning at 8 a.m. PDT at the 7,033-yard, par-72 Eugene Country Club. The final 18 holes will be contested on Tuesday with the same morning start time.

Three of the nation's the top-10 teams will be on display at the two-day event, led by top-ranked Stanford, No. 6 USC and ninth-ranked UCLA. The Aztecs will also lock horns with the seven other Pac-10 schools, including No. 21 Arizona State, Arizona (28th) and Washington (30th), while Pacific rounds out the 12-team field. SDSU enters the week at the 46th spot, according to latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings released March 18.

San Diego State is the defending champion and will be gunning for its third consecutive team title of the spring. Earlier this month, the Aztecs managed to string together a pair of victories at the Callaway Golf Invitational, March 5-6, and the Fresno State Lexus Classic on March 12-13.

Following the Oregon Duck Invitational, SDSU will have another two-week hiatus before returning to action on another Pac-10 course, April 13-15, at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. In last season's event, the Aztecs finished in third place out of the 16-team field after entering the final day of play in first place.

THIS WEEK'S LINEUP

  • Head coach Ryan Donovan will take six golfers to the Pacific Northwest this week with the top four finishers counting towards the team score. Leading the way are juniors Aaron Goldberg and Jamie Puterbaugh, who have played in all eight tournaments for the Aztecs this season. Junior transfer Ryan Citarella will be making his fourth consecutive start of the spring, while another transfer, sophomore Adam Porzak, gets the nod for the third straight week.

Also making the trip are senior Cory Segall and junior Chad Moscovic. In only his second spring tournament, Segall finished as the Aztecs' top individual player and the tournament's third-place finisher at the Lexus Classic. Moscovic rounds out the roster after finishing in a 28th-place tie in Fresno where he carded a 5-over 221.

Goldberg and Segall competed in last season's Duck Invitational, tying for third and 31st, respectively.

TWO AND COUNTING: LEXUS CLASSIC REDUX

  • Sparked by three top-five finishes, the San Diego State men's golf team posted its second straight victory on March 13, winning the Fresno State Lexus Classic at the 6,950-yard, par-72 Sunnyside Country Club in Fresno, Calif. The Aztecs fired a 15-under-par 849 for the tournament, holding off UC Irvine (-14) by one shot in a thrilling finish. The two teams battled for the top spot throughout the day, easily outdistancing the remaining 13 teams in the field with Nevada (+6), Hawai'i (+8) and host school Fresno State (+14) rounding out the top five in the team standings. With its effort, SDSU has now claimed three team titles this season and took home back-to back wins for the first time since capturing the Callaway Golf and Oregon Duck Invitationals in March 2006.

After a tough second round, senior Cory Segall (La Jolla, Calif.) bounced back in a big way on the last day, sinking eight birdies en route to a final-round total of 4-under 68. With his performance, Segall climbed into sole possession of third place at 4-under 212, just three strokes behind medalist Brian Edick of UC Irvine for his best finish ever as an Aztec. Junior Aaron Goldberg (Encinitas, Calif.) and sophomore Adam Porzak tied for fifth place as both players carded a 1-over 73 over the final 18 holes for a combined 2-under 214. Porzak, a transfer from Pepperdine, notched his best-ever collegiate finish, while Goldberg recorded his sixth top-five effort of the season.

SDSU also received a clutch performance from junior Chad Moscovic (Stockton, Calif.), who shot a 33 on the back nine on the final day en route to a third-round score of 71. Moscovic improved five spots over the first two rounds, tying for 28th out of 92 golfers with a 5-over 221.

Juniors Ryan Citarella (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Jamie Puterbaugh (Carlsbad, Calif.) were unsuccessful in their attempts to climb the individual leaderboard, however, as each experienced difficulty over the final 18 holes. Citarella was bumped out of the seventh slot into a tie for 18th after firing a third-round 76, completing the tournament with a 3-over 219. Puterbaugh, meanwhile, fell from the 15th position into a tie for 23rd, carding a final-round 74 to finish with a 4-over 220.

FLASHBACK: 2006 OREGON INVITATIONAL

  • Fresh off of its triumph at the Callaway Golf Invitational, the San Diego State men's golf team captured its second straight tournament title at the Oregon Duck Invitational at Shadow Hills Country Club in Junction City, Ore. The Aztecs outpaced runner-up Nevada by an impressive 12-shot margin, shooting a 10-under-par 854 en route to their third tournament win of the season. The victory was also SDSU's second Duck Invitational championship in three years after winning at the same course in 2003.

The Aztecs had three golfers post red figures for the tournament, led by Aaron Goldberg's 4-under 212. The Encinitas, Calif., product notched his third straight top-10 finish, tying for third place on rounds of 71-70-71. Goldberg was in contention from the start, but wound up just one stroke behind the leaders, Joe Panzeri of Washington and Washington State's Ryan Witz.

Senior Andrew Scott placed in the top five for the fourth time in 2005-06 after firing a 2-under 214, tying for fifth with with five other players. One shot in back of Scott was fellow classmate Josh Warthen, who ended in a tie for 11th with a 1-under 215. Sophomore David Palm, meanwhile, jumped up six spots on the final day, tying for 20th with a 3-over 219.

SDSU also received a notable contribution from Cory Segall, who carded an Aztec-low 4-under 68 during the second round, helping the scarlet and black surge past Oregon State in the team standings by seven shots. The La Jolla native tied for 31st with an 8-over 224.

Jason Puterbaugh made the trip north as an unattached golfer, finishing in a tie for 36th with a 9-over 225.

GOLDBERG GOLDEN

  • As a result of his stellar play during the fall season, Aaron Goldberg earned MWC Golfer of the Month honors in October and November, becoming the first SDSU player to capture the award in consecutive months since the conference's inception in 1999. The La Costa Canyon High alumnus was the Aztecs' top finisher in all five tournaments, completing 11 of 15 rounds below par. He also led the team with a 70.00 stroke average and four top-5 finishes, including the individual title at the District 7 Shootout. After finishing fifth in his third outing of the spring at the Fresno State Lexus Classic, Goldberg enters this week ranked 40th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin individual performance index released March 18.

HEAD COACH Ryan Donovan

  • San Diego State alumnus Ryan Donovan is in his fourth season at the helm of the Aztec men's golf program. Under Donovan's tutelage last year, SDSU captured three tournament titles en route to its eighth straight NCAA regional appearance. Overall, the Aztecs compiled a 253-32 head-to-head record, finishing 29th in Golfweek/Sagarin's final 2005-06 collegiate poll.