Sept. 8, 2016
Tournament Notes | Live Results
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men's golf team opens the fall portion of its 2016-17 schedule this weekend when it competes in the University of Minnesota's Gopher Invitational, Sept 10-11, at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minn.
The first two rounds of the 54-hole event will be contested on Saturday with tee times as early as 7:30 a.m. CT/5:30 a.m. PT, while the final 18 holes are slated for a Sunday completion on the par-71, 7,388-yard course layout. A live scoring link courtesy of Golfstat will be available on GoAztecs.com.
The Aztecs, who fell just shy of the top 25 in last month's Bushnell/Golfweek preseason poll at No. 28, are making their first-ever appearance at the Gopher Invitational, which features three Big Ten Conference schools in host Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan State, along with defending tournament champion Oklahoma, Arkansas, California, Charlotte, Kent State, Pepperdine, SMU and Washington. In addition, SDSU will be afforded an early look at Mountain West rival New Mexico, while Division III St. John's (Minn.) rounds out the field of 14 schools.
Head coach Ryan Donovan, who is entering his 14th year at San Diego State, will accompany the entire 10-player Aztec roster to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, including the starting lineup of seniors Nahum Mendoza III and Gunn Yang, juniors PJ Samiere and Blake Abercrombie, along with freshman Eric Ghim. In addition, senior Brian Song, junior Pablo Matesanz, sophomore Otto Vanhatalo, redshirt freshman Trevor Norby and true freshman Ryan Hoffenberg will compete in the auxiliary individual tournament to be conducted at the par-72, 6,953-yard Pioneer Creek Golf Course in nearby Maple Plain, Minn.
The Aztecs are coming off their second straight appearance in the NCAA Championships and third in five seasons, finishing 25th out of 30 teams after three rounds of stroke play a year ago at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore. SDSU returns three-fifths of its rotation from last May's tourney squad, including Mendoza, who received second-team PING All-America recognition to go with third-team All-America distinction from Golfweek. The Francis Parker High alumnus led the Aztecs with a 71.18 scoring average and 20 rounds below par during the 2015-16 campaign, posting seven top-10 placements, including four in the top five. For his efforts, Mendoza became the fifth player in SDSU history to garner Mountain West Men's Golfer of the Year accolades and also earned one of 10 spots on the U.S. squad for the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup this past summer.
The Aztecs also welcome back Yang, the 2014 U.S. Amateur champion who saw his first extensive action as a collegian last year when he received a starting nod in 11 of 13 tournaments. The Torrey Pines High product once again displayed his flair for the dramatic after carding a double-eagle on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at the Albuquerque Regional in May to propel the Scarlet and Black into the NCAA championship series. For the season, Yang averaged 73.24 strokes in 33 rounds, compiling four top-10 performances, including a fifth-place tie at the Barona Collegiate Cup to help SDSU capture the team title.
Samiere, meanwhile, enjoyed a productive summer with a victory at the Southwestern Amateur in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he shot a 13-under-par 267 on rounds of 67-66-67-67. He also finished alone in fourth at the Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) Amateur held at Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif. Last season, the Kailua, Hawaii, native compiled a 73.58 scoring average for the Aztecs and appeared in all three of the team's postseason events, including the Mountain West Championship where he tied for 20th at 1-under 215. He also finished in the third spot at the Carlton Oaks WIU Invitational and landed in the ninth position at the Barona Collegiate Cup, both as an individual performer.
SDSU is the lone representative in the 14-school field to have never played the Gopher Invitational, which is now in its 12th year. Oklahoma swept the team and individual titles at Windsong Farm in 2015 as the Sooners' Max McGreevy returns to defend his crown after shooting a 7-under 206 a year ago. Another OU golfer, Brad Dalke, is back in the mix as well, along with KK Limbhasut and Sebastian Crampton of California. All three players shot a 5-over 218 to tie for sixth.
Following this weekend's tournament, the Aztecs will return to the fairways for the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, Sept. 23-24, in Albuquerque, N.M.