Sept. 20, 2014
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's golf team resumes its fall slate early next week when it ventures to the Pacific Northwest for the Husky Invitational, Sept. 22-23, at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash. The Aztecs will be among an elite field of 15 teams to compete in the two-day 54-hole tournament, which gets underway Monday at 7:20 a.m. PT on the par-72, 7,124-yard Olympic Course.
In addition to Mountain West rival New Mexico, SDSU will lock horns with six Pac-12 opponents, including host Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA and Utah. The list of competing schools also features Brigham Young, Gonzaga, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's, Seattle and UC Davis.
Entering his 12th year at the helm of the Aztec program, head coach Ryan Donovan will accompany eight golfers to the Evergreen State, including the starting lineup of Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.), Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy), PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii), Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Nahum Mendoza III (Carlsbad, Calif.). In addition, the trio of James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.), Pablo Matusanz (Irun, Spain) and Blake Abercrombie (Rocklin, Calif.) will compete in the individual tournament on the par-71, 6,707-yard Cascade Course.
Samiere garnered his first collegiate start after finishing in fifth place as an unattached golfer two weeks ago at the season-opening Southwestern Invitational, where the SDSU freshman shot a 1-over 214 at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California. Meanwhile, Schauffele and Michelini cracked the top-20 as well, tying for the 18th position at 7-over 220.
Next week's tournament marks the 10th time since 2000 that the Aztecs have participated in the Husky Invitational. Last season, SDSU climbed four spots in the standings during the final round to tie Oregon and USC for the seventh position at 11-over 875 on the same Olympic Course, which will also serve as one of six host sites for NCAA regional competition in May 2015.
Individually, the Scarlet and Black was led by DeSantis, who tied for 15th with after posting a 1-over 217 in his very first collegiate event, followed by Schauffele, who landed in a tie for 44th with a combined 7-over 223, while Holley tied for 57th at 12-over 228.
Bolstered by three individual top-five finishes, Washington (-17) captured the team title at its home tournament for the second straight year in 2013, while the Huskies' Cheng-Tsung Pan successfully defended his individual medal after firing a 5-under 211. Pan and fellow teammate Corey Pereira, who tied for fourth last season, are back in the mix, as are Michael Anderson of Washington State and BYU's Joe Parkinson, both of whom tied for the runner-up spot.
Following the Husky Invitational, San Diego State will have little time to regroup as the Aztecs hit road once again for the William H. Tucker Invitational, Sept. 26-27, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.