March 14, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Golf Weekly Release in PDF Format
SDSU MEN'S GOLF GEARS UP FOR SEVENTH ANNUAL BARONA COLLEGIATE CUP
* Fresh off its successful title defense of the Fresno State Lexus Classic, the San Diego State men's golf team looks to build on that momentum this week when it plays host to the seventh annual Barona Collegiate Cup, March 17-18, at Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif. The first two rounds of the 54-hole tournament are slated to begin on Monday, while the final 18 holes are to be contested on Tuesday. Both days will feature a 7:30 a.m. PDT tee time on the 7,393-yard, par-72 course layout, and a live scoring link will be provided on the home page of GoAztecs.com.
"Barona is extremely proud to be the host golf course for the seventh straight year for this prestigious two-day collegiate event at Barona Creek Golf Club," said Don King, director of golf at Barona Creek. "Our golf course will be a tremendous test for these top players and we're excited to have the best amateur golfers in the nation compete at Barona Creek."
A total of seven schools in the 12-team field are ranked in the top 50, according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin performance index released March 11, including No. 39 San Diego State. No. 5 Oklahoma State is the highest-ranked team in the tournament, followed by Wichita State (31), Texas A&M (32), the Aztecs and SMU (47). Rounding out the list of competitors are Arizona, Coastal Carolina, Denver, Illinois, Nevada, Oklahoma and cross-town rival San Diego.
THIS WEEK'S LINEUP
* Head coach Ryan Donovan will utilize the same lineup for the third consecutive tournament as five Aztec golfers look to tackle Barona Creek's famed layout. Heading the list is senior extraordinaire Aaron Goldberg, who will be joined by fellow classmate Chad Moscovic, junior David Palm and freshmen deluxe Johan Carlsson and Matt Hoffenberg. Goldberg leads the squad with a 70.95 stroke average, followed closely by Hoffenberg (71.60), Palm (72.00) and Carlsson (72.27), while Moscovic (76.06) ranks sixth on the team. Of the group, only Goldberg and Moscovic return from 2006's entrants. Last season, Goldberg completed the first two rounds just one stroke behind the co-leaders in third place, but shot a final-round 75 to finish in a tie for sixth. Meanwhile Moscovic walked off the course tied for the 85th spot at 12-over 228.
A LOOK AT THE COURSE
* An award-winning $12 million golf course, Barona Creek takes advantage of the natural beauty and contours of the Barona Indian Reservation. Home of SDSU's Barona Collegiate Cup, Barona Creek offers dramatic changes in elevation and stunning views of the surrounding valley. Designed by Gary Roger Baird Design International, the 7,393-yard, par-72 course boasts nearly 100 bunkers and a series of lakes and ponds that put a premium on shot-making. In October 2007, Barona Creek served as host for the Nationwide Tour Championship and will do so again in 2010.
THE BARONA COLLEGIATE CUP: A BRIEF HISTORY
* Each year, the San Diego State men's golf program plays host to one of the premier events in the country, the Barona Collegiate Cup. Since 2001, the tournament has been held every fall at the Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif.; however for the 2007-08 season, the event has been moved to the spring. Nestled in a scenic valley on the Barona Indian Reservation, the challenging, world-class golf course attracts a field of national championship contenders on an annual basis. Barona Creek is also well known to some of the best golfers in the world as it played host to the PGA Nationwide Tour Championship in October 2007 and will do so again in 2010.
In the fall of 2006, the competition featured No. 38 UAB, 59th-ranked San Jose State, No. 60 SDSU, Mountain West Conference rival Colorado State, as well as top-75 teams in Wichita State, Saint Mary's, Utah, UC Davis and Washington State.
UAB rallied from six strokes down to overtake Wichita State for the team title after carding a 279 over the final 18 holes to finish with a combined 24-under 840. The Shockers, who led after first day, were unable to maintain their torrid pace over the final 18 holes and had to settle for the runner-up position after posting a 20-under 844. Meanwhile Colorado State (-19), San Diego (-15) and SDSU (-11) rounded out the top five.
UAB made it a daily double on the individual leaderboard as the Blazers' Zack Sucher defeated Nevada's Taylor Coffman on the second playoff hole to claim medalist honors. Both golfers completed regulation at 13-under 203, finishing two shots ahead of Colorado State's Zen Brown (-11). The Aztecs were led by Aaron Goldberg, who tied for sixth with a 6-under 210.
San Diego State has finished among the top 10 at the Barona Collegiate Cup in five of the past six years, including winning the team championship in 2002. That season, the Aztecs' John Lepak shared co-medalist honors after carding a 10-under 206, which tied him for third on the school's all-time list for lowest 54-hole score.
In addition to SDSU's team title, Brigham Young posted back-to-back victories in 2004 and 2005, shooting a tournament record 42-under 822 in both years. Rounding out the list of winners are Colorado State, which emerged triumphant in 2003, and Ohio State, which captured the inaugural event in 2001 by one shot over San Diego State.
ON DECK
* San Diego State continues its busy month following the Barona Collegiate Cup when it heads to the Pacific Northwest for the Oregon Duck Invitational, March 24-25, in Creswell, Ore. This year's edition will be contested at the 6,873-yard, par-72 Emerald Valley Golf Club. In a field dominated by Pac-10 teams, SDSU battled wind and rain to finish in ninth place at last year's event. The adverse conditions affected the entire 70-golfer field as only three players completed the tournament below par. The Aztecs were led by Aaron Goldberg and Jamie Puterbaugh, who both tied for the 17th position at 5-over 221.
LEXUS CLASSIC REDUX
* Buoyed by a trio of top-10 individual finishes, the San Diego State men's golf team captured its second event title of the season on March 11 at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. The Aztecs shot a combined 23-under-par 841 for the tournament, outlasting Texas (-20) and California (-20) by just three strokes at the 6,729-yard, par-72 Fort Washington Country Club. With the victory, SDSU successfully defended its team championship at the Lexus Classic from a year ago and marked just the second time since 2000 that the Scarlet and Black won the same tournament in consecutive years.
The race for medalist honors was even more dramatic as freshman Matt Hoffenberg and Charlie Holland of Texas completed regulation in a tie atop the individual leaderboard at 9-under 207. Hoffenberg was the only Aztec to shoot in red figures on Tuesday, recording just one bogey en route to a 2-under 70. Trailing by just three strokes heading into the final round, the Simi Valley, Calif., native remained close and actually took a two-shot lead after draining consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th holes. However, Holland, who was playing one group in back, pulled even after sinking two birdies of his own on holes 15-16. The two golfers then carded pars the rest of the way to set up a playoff where the Longhorn sophomore prevailed on the third sudden-death hole. Despite the disappointment, Hoffenberg posted his lowest score as a collegian, while also notching SDSU's best individual finish of the season.
Meanwhile, David Palm, who entered the final round just two shots off the pace, fell out of contention over the final 18 holes after struggling out of the gate with five bogeys on the front nine en route to a 3-over 75. Still, the Aztec junior managed his second-best finish of the season after completing the tournament at 5-under 211 to tie for sixth place along with five other golfers. Included in that logjam was senior Aaron Goldberg, who also had designs on the top prize himself after lurking five strokes behind at the conclusion of round two. However, the Encinitas, Calif., product had three birdies offset by a trio of bogeys during the final round and wound up settling for an even-par 72.
The Scarlet and Black also received a top-20 finish from freshman Johan Carlsson, who tied for the 15th spot with a combined 3-under 213 after carding a 73 over the final 18 holes. Senior Chad Moscovic's final round also counted toward the team score as the Stockton, Calif., native shot his third straight 74 to tie for the 66th position at 6-over 222.
FLASHBACK: 2006 BARONA COLLEGIATE CUP
* Despite having three players finish in the top 20 on the individual leaderboard, San Diego State slipped one position on the final day and had to settle for a fifth-place showing at the 2006 Barona Collegiate Cup. SDSU shot an even-par 288 over the final 18 holes for a three-round total of 11-under 853.
For the fourth-straight outing, the Aztecs were led by Aaron Goldberg who carded a 6-under 210 for the tournament. Goldberg was in contention entering the final round, sitting just one stroke in back of co-leaders Zack Sucher of UAB and Nevada's Taylor Coffman. The La Costa Canyon High alum dropped into a tie for sixth, however, after carding a 3-over 75 during the final 18 holes.
Chris Cole posted three consecutive rounds in red figures for the tournament, finishing in a tie for 14th with a 4-under 212. Adam Porzak vaulted from 44th into a tie for 20th after carding a 3-under 69 for the Aztecs' lowest score of the final round. The transfer from Pepperdine finished with a 1-under 215 in his first competition for the Scarlet and Black and tied Cole for the team lead with 14 birdies over 54 holes.
UAB captured both the team and individual honors in the 18-team, 100-player field. The Blazers shot a 24-under 840 to claim the title by four strokes over runner-up Wichita State (-20), while Colorado State (-19) and San Diego (-15) placed third and fourth, respectively. Individually, Sucher earned medalist honors after defeating Coffman on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.
GOLDBERG NAMED MWC GOLFER OF THE MONTH
* Aaron Goldberg was named the Mountain West Conference men's golfer of the month for January/February as announced by the league office on Feb. 29. The Aztec senior earned his first monthly honor of the 2007-08 season and the fourth of his career, becoming just the third player to have won the award at least four times since the conference's inception in 1999.
Goldberg opened the spring season in impressive fashion, tying for second at the PING Arizona Intercollegiate, Jan. 28-29, after carding an 8-under-par 205 on rounds of 67-71-67. In a field of 86 participants, Goldberg was one of just 16 golfers to complete the Tucson, Ariz., tournament in red figures as he notched his highest finish of the 2007-08 campaign.
Two days later at the challenging San Diego Country Club, Goldberg posted his second straight runner-up finish at the 36-hole SDSU Intercollegiate Classic on Jan. 31. The difficult 7,033-yard course layout was the bane of the 27-player field; however, Goldberg was one of only five competitors to complete a round at or below par, firing an even-72 during the second round to finish just one stroke away from the individual title at 3-over 147 (75-72).
At the John Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii, Feb. 20-22, Goldberg shot a collegiate-best 7-under par 65 over the final 18 holes en route to a 10-under 206 (69-72-65) for the event, where he tied for the seventh spot. In addition to lifting San Diego State to a fourth-place finish in the team standings, Goldberg's effort on the final day was also his lowest score in relation to par as an Aztec and tied three other players in the 110-golfer field for the low round of the tournament.
For the season, Goldberg leads the team with a 70.95 stroke average, which is also tops in the Mountain West Conference among players who have completed at least 21 rounds. In four spring tournaments, Goldberg has been even better, compiling an amazing 69.90 stroke average en route to two runner-up finishes.
Goldberg, who garnered MWC golfer of the month accolades on three occasions during the 2006-07 season, is ranked No. 27 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin individual ratings released March 11.
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.