March 11, 2017
SAN DIEGO -- The 22nd-ranked San Diego State men's golf team continues its busy stretch next week when it competes in the 10th annual Lamkin San Diego Classic, March 13-14, in Chula Vista, Calif. The two-day, 54-hole tournament, co-hosted by the Aztecs and the University of San Diego, will be conducted at San Diego Country Club.
The course will play at 7,014 yards for Monday's first two rounds, which are scheduled to begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. PDT, while Tuesday's final 18 holes will feature a 6,962-yard layout, commencing with tee times as early 8 a.m. PDT. Admission is free to the public, and a live scoring link will be available courtesy of Golfstat on GoAztecs.com.
Along with SDSU, the highly competitive field features 10 additional squads ranked among the Golfstat top 75, including No. 18 Texas, No. 20 Duke, No. 28 North Carolina and No. 29 Ole Miss, No. 48 New Mexico, No. 49 Middle Tennessee, No. 58 Saint Mary's, No. 58 UCLA, No. 62 North Texas and No. 73 Arizona. The Aztecs will also battle Mountain West adversary Colorado State, while USD, Santa Clara and Pacific round out the list of participating schools.
SDSU will have eight players participating in next week's tournament, featuring the starting lineup of seniors Nahum Mendoza and Gunn Yang, juniors PJ Samiere and Blake Abercrombie, as well as sophomore Otto Vanhatalo. Aztec head coach Ryan Donovan will also have three individuals competing in the South Bay, including senior Brian Song, junior Pablo Matesanz and freshman Ryan Hoffenberg.
The Scarlet and Black is coming off a 15th-place showing at the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate last week in Las Vegas, Nev., a tournament that featured 10 schools ranked among the top 25. Samiere was SDSU's No. 1 golfer, finishing alone in 17th place at even-par 216, while Abercrombie tied for 36th at 8-over 224.
Samiere leads the Aztecs with a 71.62 scoring average so far this season, followed by Mendoza (72.24) and Abercrombie (72.43). The SDSU trio has appeared in all seven events for the Scarlet and Black this season, while Yang (72.82) will be making his second straight start this spring, along with Vanhatalo (74.78).
The Aztecs find themselves at No. 22 in the latest Golfstat rankings, while the Scarlet and Black is listed 29th in the Golfweek/Sagarin index. Despite missing the first two tournaments of the spring, Yang is currently 66th in the latest Golfstat Cup standings, while Mendoza checks in No. 71. A quick look at the most recent Golfweek individual rankings finds Samiere at No. 65, while Mendoza is at No. 101.
The Lamkin San Diego Classic is celebrating its 10th anniversary while marking its seventh consecutive year as a two-day, 54-hole competition. The tournament, formerly known as the San Diego Intercollegiate, was launched in 2008 primarily as an opportunity for local schools to compete against one another. The event has now expanded from local competition to host teams from all across the nation.
This is the eighth time overall and seventh year in a row that the Lamkin San Diego Classic will be held at San Diego Country Club. The inaugural event took place at the Chula Vista course and moved to the La Jolla Country Club in 2009, followed by a one-year stint at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., in 2010. Before becoming a two-day tournament in 2011, the event was a one-day, 36-hole challenge.
Texas captured the team title a year ago after finishing with a collective 12-under 852, topping second-place New Mexico (-3) by nine strokes, while the San Diego State finished third at 4-over. The Longhorns also boasted the individual winner in Beau Hossler, who shot an 8-under 208 to edge New Mexico's Sam Kim (-6) by two strokes. Hossler has completed his eligibilty, but Kim is back in the mix, along with another Texas golfer Gavin Hall (-3), who tied the Aztecs' Mendoza for third place. Meanwhile, SDSU's two remaining starters from last year's event, Samiere and Yang, tied for 28th and 34th, respectively.
The Aztecs landed in the sixth spot at SDCC in 2015 after posting an 8-over 872, while former SDSU All-American Xander Schauffele tied for 10th on the individual leaderboard with an even-par 216. Schauffele took home the top prize as a junior in 2014 after carding an 11-under 205, propelling the Scarlet and Black to a second-place standing.
The previous year in 2013, SDSU earned its only team championship in the history of the event, while USD captured a pair of crowns in 2008 and 2010. In addition, Point Loma Nazarene emerged victorious in 2009, while SMU grabbed the top spot in 2011, followed by Washington in 2012 and USC in 2014.
Following the Lamkin San Diego Classic, the Aztecs will enjoy a bye week before traveling to the Pacific Northwest for the Oregon Duck Invitational, March 27-28, in Eugene, Ore.