Jan. 27, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Golf Weekly Release in PDF Format
Aztec Men's Golf Set to Open Spring Schedule With Road Trip to Arizona
* The San Diego State men's golf team kicks off its 2008 spring season this week when it travels to Tucson, Ariz., for the PING Arizona Intercollegiate, Jan. 28-29, at the 6,900-yard, par-71 Arizona National Golf Club. The University of Arizona will serve as host for the 54-hole tournament, which gets underway Monday with a shotgum start at 8 a.m. MST. A link to Golfstat's live scoring will be available on the home page of GoAztecs.com.
The two-day event features a field of 15 teams, including four schools which ended the fall campaign ranked in the top 35 according to the Golfweek/Sagarin performance index. UCLA (4) and Tennessee (10) are the two highest ranked teams in the tournament, followed East Tennessee State (31) and UNLV (33).
San Diego State, meanwhile, concluded fall play with a No. 38 ranking in the Golfweek poll. In addition to the aforementioned programs, the Aztecs will also get an early look at two other Mountain West Conference rivals this week in Brigham Young and New Mexico.
The Scarlet and Black will be making its first appearance at the PING Arizona Intercollegiate since February 2000. That year, SDSU finished fourth among 20 teams, after shooting a combined 18-over-par 870, 22 strokes in back of first-place USC. The Aztecs' Scott Piercy, Lars Johansson and Magnus Carlsson each tied for 12th place with a 3-over 216 for the tournament, which was held at the Raven Golf Course in Sabino Springs, Ariz.
This Week's Lineup
* Head coach Ryan Donovan will employ a youthful lineup for the trip to the Grand Canyon State. The five- player SDSU contingency features three freshmen in Johan Carlsson, Matt Hoffenberg and Jerry Porras, along with seniors Aaron Goldberg and Chad Moscovic. Carlsson led the squad with a 71.73 scoring average in four fall tournaments, followed closely by Goldberg at 72.00. Like Carlsson and Goldberg, Hoffenberg will also be making his fifth start of the season as the Simi Valley, Calif., native ranks fourth on the squad with a scoring average of 73.22. Meanwhile, Porras and Moscovic will be making their second and third appearances of the year, respectively. Both players competed as individuals at the Sycuan Intercollegiate Invitational last October, while Moscovic participated in the rain-shortened Husky Invitational as well.
On Deck
* Following the PING Arizona Intercollegiate, the Aztecs will return home to compete in the SDSU Intercollegiate Classic on Thursday, Jan. 31, at the 7,033-yard, par-72 San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif. The 36-hole event is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 a.m. with the Aztecs seeking local supremacy against UC San Diego, Point Loma Nazarene, Cal State San Marcos, and the University of San Diego. SDSU will then have three weeks off before its next tournament, the John Burns Intercollegiate, Feb 20-22, in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Head Coach Ryan Donovan
* Armed with a new three-year contract, San Diego State alumnus Ryan Donovan is now in his fifth season as the leader of the Aztec men's golf program. With Donovan at the helm, SDSU captured three tournament titles in 2006-07 en route to its ninth straight NCAA regional appearance. Overall, the Aztecs compiled a 99-65 head-to-head record and finished 50th in Golfstat's final collegiate poll.
Under Donovan's tutelage last season, junior Aaron Goldberg had one the program's finest campaigns, finishing with a scoring average of 70.71, while recording seven top-five finishes and capturing medalist honors at the District 7 Fall Shootout. For his efforts, the La Costa Canyon High alumnus earned honorable mention PING All-America honors, the program's first such award since 2001.
The 2005-06 season was equally impressive as Donovan guided SDSU to three team tournament victories and its eighth consecutive NCAA regional appearance. Three Aztec golfers - seniors Andrew Scott and Josh Warthen and sophomore David Palm - all claimed individual titles during the season, while Scott and Goldberg garnered all-Mountain West Conference accolades.
Donovan was a four-year competitor for the SDSU golf squad from 1997- 2001. His most successful season came as a junior when he posted five top-30 finishes.
Fall Wrap
* Among the many highlights for SDSU during its four-tournament fall slate was an amazing come-from-behind-victory at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, Oct. 8-9, in Fairfax, Calif. Languishing in seventh place entering the second day of competition, the Aztecs rallied from an 11-stroke deficit over the final 18 holes to unseat second-round leader Washington by four strokes. Bolstered by the trio of Aaron Goldberg, Johan Carlsson and David Palm, who each carded final-round scores in the 60s, SDSU shot a season-best 24-under 828 en route to its first team title of the year. Goldberg finished the tournament alone in third place, while Carlsson found himself in a tie for fourth. However, the catalyst was arguably Palm, whose 4-under 67 during the final round propelled him into a tie for 15th after finishing the second round in the 36th spot. Palm, who sat out last season after undergoing back surgery, completed his best round since firing a 5-under 66 at the ASU Thundebird Invitational in April 2006.
Two weeks later, the Aztecs returned home for the inaugural Sycuan Collegiate Invitational, Oct. 22-23, at the Sycuan Resort in El Cajon, Calif. Battling intense Santa Ana winds and the specter of local wildifres, SDSU jumped out to a six-stroke lead over Wichita State after 36 holes on the 6,687-yard, par-72 Willow Glen Course. Although the winds calmed somewhat during the second day, SDSU was unable to maintain its momentum as the second-place Shockers turned the tables on the Scarlet and Black over the final 18 holes to capture the crown by six shots with a combined 20-over 884. Still, the Aztecs managed their second runner-up finish of the fall, while Palm (3rd), Carlsson (t-11th) and Goldberg (t-11th) found themselves near the top of the individual leaderboard. Jamie Puterbaugh (t-22nd) just missed out on a top-20 finish, but still completed his best showing of the season.
San Diego State also finished second at the season-opening William H. Tucker Invitational, Sept. 14-15, in Albuquerque N.M. The Aztecs trailed first-place Pepperdine by three strokes after 36 holes, but were unable to close the gap as the Waves maintained their lead throughout the final round to secure the victory. With a combined 4-over 868 to its credit, SDSU was tops among the six Mountain West Conference schools competing in the tournament, finishing 13 shots ahead of its closest competitor in Utah. Playing in his first collegiate tournament, Carlsson tied Goldberg for fifth place in the individual standings, while Matt Hoffenberg (t-19th) cracked the top-20 in his Scarlet and Black debut.