Jan. 30, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
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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 2009 spring season this week when it travels to Tucson, Ariz., for the Arizona Invitational, Feb. 2-3, 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 shotgun start at 8 a.m. MST. Last year the tournament was known as the PING Arizona Intercollegiate. 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 17 teams, including seven schools which ended the fall campaign ranked in the top 50 according to the Golfweek/Sagarin performance index. Tennessee (17) and UNLV (20) are the two highest ranked teams in the tournament, followed East Tennessee State (24), California (29), Tulsa (39) and Pepperdine (48).
San Diego State, meanwhile, concluded fall play with a No. 42 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 opponents this week in Brigham Young and New Mexico.
The Scarlet and Black will be making its second consecutive appearance at the Arizona Invitational (formerly known as the PING Arizona Intercollegiate). Last year, SDSU finished sixth among 15 teams, after shooting a combined 8-under-par 856, 24 strokes in back of first-place Tennessee. The Aztecs' were led by then-senior Aaron Goldberg, who tied for second (205). As a freshman last year, Matt Hoffenberg tied for seventh (208).
This Week's Lineup
San Diego State head coach Ryan Donovan will employ the fifth different lineup of the 2008-09 season for the trip to the Grand Canyon State. The five-player SDSU contingency features senior David Palm, sophomores Johan Carlsson and Matt Hoffenberg, along with freshmen Andrew Cooley and Alex Kang. Carlsson led the squad with a 71.83 scoring average in four fall tournaments, followed closely by Cooley at 72.42. Hoffenberg, Palm and Spaun will also be making their fourth starts of the season. Hoffenberg saved his best tournament for last during the fall as the Simi Valley, Calif. native finished in a tie for 18th place at the Turtle Bay Resort Invitational. Palm's best outing this fall came at the Sycuan Collegiate where the senior's 3-under-par 54 hole total tied for 24th place. Freshman Spaun had a nice showing at his first collegiate tournament, firing an even par 72 in the final round of play to finish in a tie for 14th position at the Washington Husky Invitational.
On Deck
Following the Arizona Invitational, the Aztecs will enjoy a three week rest before traveling just north to compete in the USC Invitational on Feb. 23-24, at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif. The Scarlet and Black will then have another two weeks off before its next tournament, the Fresno State Lexus Classic, Mar. 9-10, in Fresno, Calif. SDSU will look to defend the team crown it captured in 2007 and 2008.
Carlsson Named Mountain West Conference Golfer of the Month
Sophomore Johan Carlsson was named the Mountain West Conference men's golfer of the month as announced by the league office on Nov. 19. The award is the first of his career.
Carlsson, a product of Gothenburg, Sweden, helped the Aztecs to a third-place finish at the Rees Jones Intercollegiate on Daufuski Island, S.C. in early November, followed by a second-place team finish at the Turtle Bay Resort Intercollegiate in Kuhuku, Hawaii.
Carlsson recorded five rounds below 70 during the fall campaign, including two during the month of November.
A Look Back: 2008 PING Arizona Intercollegiate
Despite shaving 10 strokes off its score from the first round, San Diego State was unable to make a dent in the team standings, finishing the second day exactly where it began, in sixth place. The Aztecs shot a combined 4-over 856 for the tournament, including a 4-under 280 during the final round. Tennessee (-20) captured the team title, four shots ahead of runner-up UNLV (-17), followed by UCLA (-5) and host school Arizona (-4). East Tennessee State squeaked past SDSU for fifth place, finishing at 3-over.
San Diego State senior Aaron Goldberg fired a 4-under par 67 on Tuesday to lead the Aztec men's golf team during the final round of the PING Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Ariz. Goldberg carded an 8-under 205 for the tournament to finish in a tie for second at the 6,793-yard, par-71 Arizona National Golf Club. With his effort, the Encinitas, Calif., native posted his highest finish of the 2007-08 campaign and third top-5 showing in five events.
Freshman Matt Hoffenberg worked his magic around the greens as well, matching Goldberg's effort with a 4-under 67 of his own. The Simi Valley, Calif., product drained five birdies during the final round, including three on his last four holes en route to a seventh-place tie. With his performance, Hoffenberg recorded his lowest score as a collegian to go along with his first-ever top-10 finish.
Tennessee (-20) captured the team title, four shots ahead of runner-up UNLV (-17), followed by UCLA (-5) and host school Arizona (-4). East Tennessee State squeaked past SDSU for fifth place, finishing at 3-over. UCLA's Kevin Chappell carded a 15-under-par to take home medalist honors.
Fall Wrap
Among the many highlights for SDSU during its four-tournament fall slate was a runner-up finish at the Turtle Bay Intercollegiate, Nov. 11-12, in Kahuku, Hawaii. Entering the final round in a tie for first place with Mountain West Conference member UNLV, the Aztecs were unable to emerge from the pack despite shooting a combined 10-under278 over the final 18 holes. Texas, meanwhile, overcame a two-stroke deficit a posted a final round 15-under 273 en route to the victory. Sophomore Johan Carlsson led the Aztecs as he finished in a tie for third place at 7-under par (209). His effort was his second top-3 performance of the fall and his fourth top-18 finish of the young 2008-09 season. Freshman Andrew Cooley shot a third round even-par 72 to finish up fall play with his third top-15 effort of the year. Sophomore Matt Hoffenberg finished one stroke back of Cooley in a tie for 18th place. Hoffenberg finished out the fall campaign with a 3-under 69 in the final round to finish the tournament at 3-under par. Freshman Alex Kang had the best round of the day for the Scarlet and Black, as he logged his best single-round score in relation to par of his young Aztec career with a 6-under par 66 on the second day of competition to finish in a tie for 31st. Freshman J.J. Spaun rounded out the Aztec lineup with a final round 1-under par to sit in a tie for 42nd place.
The week prior to that, the Aztecs traveled to the inaugural Rees Jones Intercollegiate, Nov. 3-4, on Daufuskie Island, S.C. The Aztecs posted their third straight top-10 effort of the fall with their third place showing. San Diego State shot a combined 37-over par (901) to end the tournament behind team champion and No. 22 South Carolina (+15; 879) and Georgia State (+37; 900). Wesley Bryan of South Carolina earned medalist honors with a two-over par effort. For the first time in his young SDSU career, freshman J.J. Spaun was the Aztecs' top performer over 54 holes with his 8-over par 224 outing. He began the final day in a tie for 22nd place, before firing a 1-under to vault 15 spots and into the tie for seventh. Finishing just outside the top 10 was senior Bryan Martin, who completed play in a tie for 11th place. The transfer from Loyola Marymount ended with a three-round total of 10-over par (226). One stroke behind Martin was Andrew Cooley in a tie for 15th place at 11-over (227). Joining the aforementioned trio in the top 20 was 42nd-ranked Johan Carlsson after he notched a tied-for-18th finish with his 12-over (228) performance. Senior David Palm moved up the final leaderboard on the last day of competition and finished in a tie for 31st.
San Diego State also finished third at the season-opening Washington Husky Invitational, Sept. 29-30, in Bremerton, Wash. Johan Carlsson shot a 1-over 73 on the final 18 holes en route to a 2-under par (214) score to finish the season opener in second place. Carlsson finished just two strokes back of Chris Killmer of Washington who took home medalist honors. Carlsson and Killmer were the only two in the field to finish the tournament below par. As a team, the Aztecs maintained its third-place position from the previous day after shooting a final round 6-over 294 to finish the invite with a three-round total of 15-over par (879). Washington took top team honors as they finished with a three-round total of 7-under (857). In his first tournament for the Scarlet and Black, Andrew Cooley finished in a tie for third place. J.J. Spaun also had a nice showing for the Aztecs as he climbed eight spots on the final day to finish in a tie for 14th at 5-over (221). Matt Hoffenberg was the fourth Aztec to place in the top 20. First-year Aztec Alex Kang moved up the leaderboard into a tie for 32nd after finishing the tournament with a 10-over 226. The last of the San Diego State contingent was David Palm, who could never find his rhythm and finished in a tie for 35th position.
Head Coach Ryan Donovan
Coming off San Diego State's best season since 1982 and the Aztecs' best showing during his tenure, San Diego State alumnus Ryan Donovan is now in his sixth season as the leader of the Aztec men's golf program. With Donovan at the helm, SDSU placed in the top 14 in all 15 outings with the 15th tournament being a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Overall, the Aztecs compiled a 266-21 head-to-head record and finished 20th in Golfstat's final collegiate poll. Individually, Donovan helped a pair of athletes in senior Aaron Goldberg and junior David Palm earn All-America accolades. Additionally, both were all-Mountain West Conference and all-Southwest Region selections. Other players to earn season-ending honors under Donovan were Matt Hoffenberg (MWC freshman of the year, all-MWC, all-Southwest Region) and Johan Carlsson (all-Southwest Region). Donovan himself was named the Eaton Golf Pride Division I Coach of the Year for the southwest region given out annually by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
In 2006-07, SDSU secured three team tournament titles and reached the NCAA Regionals for the team's ninth straight appearance. 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 on his way to being named an honorable mention PING All-America honors, the program's first such honor 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.