Aug. 22, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State senior men's golfer Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) was a late addition to this year's field for the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship, which is being played Aug. 22-28, at Erin Hills and Blue Mound Golf and Country Club in Erin, Wis. Kang, who was originally tabbed an alternate following sectional qualifying, becomes the fourth Aztec competing in this week's championship, joining senior J.J. Spaun, junior Evan Emerick and sophomore Todd Baek.
Kang just missed earning an automatic bid to the 2011 U.S. Am, coming up short in a three-way playoff at the Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra Heights, Calif., July 18. He finished the two rounds with a 141 to tie both Joseph Harrison and Alex Shi Yup Kim, but was the odd man out in the playoff for the final two spots.
Kang had the best year of his Aztec career in 2010-11, finishing second on the team in stroke average, highlighted by a 69.67 mark during the short fall campaign. He had seven top-10 finishes and ended up in the top 20 in 11 of 14 events. Kang won the Alister MacKenzie Invitational last October with a school-record 16-under 197, and also came in fourth place at both the Mountain West and NCAA regional championships.
Baek was the first Aztec to tee off in Monday's first round of stroke play at 8:10 a.m. CDT, logging an opening round 69 with an eagle and five birdies. He is followed by Kang (8:50 a.m.), Emerick (12:15 p.m.) and Spaun (1:15 p.m.).
The 2011 U.S. Amateur is being played at both the 7,760-yard, par-72 Erin Hills course and the 6,622-yard, par-70 Blue Mound Golf and Country Club. Erin Hills is the longest course in the event's 116-year history and this is the first time the state of Wisconsin has played host to the country's oldest golf championship.
This year's field features 312 golfers competing in 36 holes of stroke play over the first two days. After the second round, the low 64 scorers advance to match play. On Sunday, Aug. 28, the remaining two golfers will compete in 36 holes of match play to determine this year's U.S. Amateur champion. Live results are available on the USGA website, www.usga.org.
San Diego State, under ninth-year head coach Ryan Donovan, returns six letterwinners from last year's record-breaking squad that won seven tournament titles, including the program's first Mountain West and NCAA regional championships.