Oct. 14, 2011
SDSU Tournament Notes at Alister MacKenzie Invite
The San Diego State men's golf team concludes its short, three-tournament 2011 fall campaign this coming week at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, Oct. 17-18. The Aztecs will play 36 holes on Monday, followed by the final 18 on Tuesday at the par-71, 6,718-yard Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif.
SDSU, which has finished in the top four of each of its two previous fall events, will be among a highly competitive field of 16 schools, including four foes ranked in the top 50 nationally. The Aztecs remain 14th in the coaches' poll and are sitting at No. 23 and No. 26 nationally by golfstat.com and Golfweek/Sagarin, respectively.
Only one other Mountain West member, Colorado State, will be in the mix, as will Pac-12 members No. 2 Oregon, No. 67 Oregon State, No. 26 Colorado, No. 179 Utah, No. 109 Washington State and tournament host and No. 19 California.
San Diego State has played at the Alister MacKenzie three times previously, taking second in 2010, placing sixth in a rain-shortened event in 2009 and winning in 2007. The tournament started back in 2002, but skipped the 2008 campaign.
In addition, current Aztec senior Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) returns to defend his individual title as he edged teammate Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zealand) as well as Cal's Ben An by one stroke.
First day action gets underway at 8:15 a.m. PT with a shotgun start, while the second day begins with tee times as early as 7:45 a.m. Live results will be available for all three rounds on golfstat.com.
Aztec Line-Up For This Week
Ninth-year head coach Ryan Donovan will make one change in his starting five this week, bringing back junior Tom Berry (New Haw, England), who played in the opening tournament in New Mexico. Berry will be joined by seniors Alex Kang and J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.), sophomore Todd Baek and freshman Wilson Bateman (Edmonton, Alberta).
Spaun and Berry have both competed for the Aztecs in each of the last two Alister MacKenzie Invites. Kang and Baek, as previously mentioned, both played the course in 2010, posting school-record scores and becoming the first two SDSU golfers to break the 200-mark at a 54-hole tournament.
Flashback: SDSU & The Alister MacKenzie
San Diego State participates in the Alister MacKenzie for the third year in a row and the fourth time in the tournament's previous eight years.
In 2010, Alex Kang won his second career individual tournament tile by posting a school-record 16-under par 197, edging both teammate Todd Baek and Cal's Ben An by a single stroke at the par-71, 6,708-yard course at The Meadow Club.
The Aztecs had three of their five golfers finish in the top five and made a huge run at the team title over the final 18 holes, shaving eight strokes off their 10-stroke deficit heading into the day. The team, however, came up just short as the host Golden Bears won by two strokes with a 48-under 804.
SDSU's 54-hole total of 46-under 806 was a school record, beating the previous mark of 822, when the team won the 2006 District 7 Fall Shootout in Las Vegas, which was also a par-71 event.
Kang and Baek became the first SDSU men's golfers to ever break the 200 barrier at a 54-hole tournament, easily eclipsing the previous school record of 201 by former All-American Aaron Goldberg at the same 2006 District 7 Fall Shootout.
In 54 holes, Kang totaled 16 birdies, an eagle and only two bogeys on a pair of par-4 holes. Baek, playing in his third collegiate event, challenged for the title with a final-round 66, which moved him from fourth into a tie for second place at 15-under 198.
Colin Featherstone (Fallbrook, Calif.) made it three Aztecs in the top five, when he also carded a 13-under 200 to take fifth. J.J. Spaun moved up 15 slots in the final 18 holes to tie for 35th with a 211, while Tom Berry rounded out the group by tying for 50th with a 215.
Rewind: SDSU Finished Fourth At PGA West
Sophomore Todd Baek tied for third and senior Alex Kang tied for fifth to lead the Aztecs to a fourth-place finish at The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., Oct. 9-11. SDSU jumped from sixth to third following the second round before dropping just one slot into fourth in the final standings with a 54-hole total of 21-under 843 at the par-72, 7,156-yard Greg Norman Course at PGA West.
Baek opened the events with consecutive rounds of 68, before logging a 70 over the final 18 holes. Kang, meanwhile, finished strong with two-straight sub-70 rounds, including a team-low 67, to end up at 9-under 207.
SDSU freshman Wilson Bateman was the third San Diego State player in the top 30, tying for 30th place at 1-under 215. Senior Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.) tied for 49th with a 219 and J.J. Spaun carded a 221 to tie for 58th to round out the Aztec contingent.