SAN DIEGO – For the third year in a row, the San Diego State men's golf team will venture to the Land of 10,000 Lakes for its season opener when the Aztecs partake in the Gopher Invitational, Sept. 9-10, in Independence, Minnesota.
The first two rounds of the 54-hole event will be contested on Sunday, with the Aztecs slated to tee off at 7:15 a.m. CT/5:15 a.m. PT alongside Arkansas and Michigan State on the par-71, 7,368-yard Windsong Farm Golf Club in suburban Minneapolis.
Meanwhile, the final 18 holes are pegged for a Monday completion, with tee times based on team scores through round two. A live scoring link for both days will be available on GoAztecs.com.
San Diego State, which received votes in last month's Bushnell/Golfweek preseason poll, will battle four schools at the Gopher Invitational that qualified for the 2018 NCAA Championships, including the aforementioned Arkansas squad, along with North Carolina State, Oklahoma and Texas. The Aztecs will also lock horns with a trio of regional participants from a year ago in Coastal Carolina and Purdue, as well as Sunday's playing partner Michigan State. In addition, the Scarlet and Black will get an early look at Mountain West rival New Mexico, while Charlotte, Iowa, Utah, Washington and two platoons from host Minnesota round out the elite 15-team field.
Head coach Ryan Donovan, who is entering his 16th season at San Diego State, will accompany all 11 golfers to the Upper Midwest this weekend, featuring the starting lineup of sophomores Christian Banke (Danville, Calif.), Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) and Zihao Jin (Beijing, China), along with freshmen Youssef Guezzale (San Diego, Calif.) and Leo Oyo (Tokyo, Japan).
The remaining six Aztecs will participate unattached in the ancillary Pioneer Creek Collegiate tournament to be contested at Pioneer Creek Golf Course in Maple Plain, Minnesota, including senior Otto Vanhatalo (Espoo, Finland), junior transfers Ambrose Abbracciamento (Newtown, Pa.), Newport Laparojkit (Montebello, Calif.) and Aaron Whalen (Ephrata, Wash.), along with sophomore Steve Sugimoto (San Diego, Calif.) and freshman Joey Moore (Billings, Mont.).
SDSU is coming off its 20th consecutive postseason appearance when it finished 10th out of 14 teams at the NCAA Norman Regional in Oklahoma. However, SDSU will be looking overcome the loss of its top two players from a year ago in PJ Samiere and Blake Abercrombie, who both graduated last May. Samiere was a two-time PING All-West region honoree and all-MW selection, while Abercrombie garnered all-league accolades on two occasions as well.
Anupansuebsai is the top Aztec returner among this week's lineup, posting a 73.75 scoring average in 11 events last year, highlighted by an 11th-place performance at the Western Intercollegiate last April. The Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, native is also the lone SDSU starter to participate in last season's edition of the Gopher Invitational, where he shot a 7-over 220 to tie for 31st in his collegiate debut.
Jin (75.47) and Banke (75.64) saw limited action in their respective rookie campaigns last season, earning two starts apiece. Banke, who joined the squad at the semester break, was the Aztecs' top golfer at The Prestige at PGA West, where he tied for 33rd at 5-over 147 in the wind-shortened event, while Jin's best performance featured back-to-back rounds of 69 at the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational in Hawaii, where he finished with a season-best 2-under 214 to help SDSU to a runner-up team finish.
San Diego State will be looking to improve on its 10th-place standing at the Gopher Invitational last year, logging a combined 23-over 875 after taking second in the 2016 edition with a 13-over 865. Arkansas is the defending team champion after shooting a collective 4-under 848 to best second-place Baylor (+6) by 10 strokes.
Oklahoma's Brad Dalke is the top returning individual after finishing a solo eighth with an even-par 213, while fellow Sooner teammate Blaine Hale was two shots behind in a tie for 10th. Also back in the mix are Arkansas' William Buhl (t-13th), Purdue's Cole Bradley (t-13th), Michigan State's Andrew Walker (t-22nd), Oklahoma's Riley Casey (t-22nd) and New Mexico's Galven Green (t-22nd).
Following the Gopher Invitational, SDSU will return to the fairways for the 65th annual William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, scheduled for Sept. 28-29, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Men's Golf Prepares For Season Opener in Minnesota
Christian Banke and the Aztecs are set for their season opener at the Gopher Invitational.