Men’s Golf Takes Sixth at Southwestern Invitational

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- The San Diego State men's golf team took sixth place in an impressive 12-team field at the Southwestern Invitational presented by Topgolf at the par-72, 6,992-yard North Ranch Country Club.
 
The Aztecs shot a 3-over 291 in Wednesday's final round and finished at 7-over 871. Third-ranked Arizona State won the event with a tournament-record 30-under 834, while No. 7 Pepperdine (-17), No. 21 Washington (-8), No. 13 Georgia (-1) and No. 14 Wake Forest (+5) rounded out the top five.
 
SDSU finished five strokes ahead of UCLA (seventh, +12) and 15 shots clear of No. 8 Texas (eighth, +22). The other Mountain West schools in the tournament were San José State (T-10th, +38) and UNLV (12th, +42).
 
Senior Zihao Jin (Beijing/Rancho Bernardo HS (San Diego)) was San Diego State's top finisher in solo 22nd at 1-over 217. Senior Steve Sugimoto (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) and freshman Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) tied for 23rd at 2-over 218, while sophomore Jackson Moss (San Diego/Point Loma HS) (+6) and senior Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) (+9) took 31st (tied) and 39th, respectively.
 
Jin followed his 73s on Monday and Tuesday with a 1-under 71 today where the average score for the 64 competitors was 75.41. The highlight of Jin's day was an eagle on the par-5, 526-yard 12th hole, followed by a birdie on the par-3, 202-yard 13th. He also notched birdies on the par-4, 462-yard first and the par-5, 493-yard sixth, which offset four bogeys. Jin, who moved up 10 places on the final day, has led the Aztecs in two of his three tournament appearances for the 2021-22 season.
 
Sugimoto, meanwhile, logged SDSU's lowest score of the day at 2-under 70. After a 76 on Monday and a 72 yesterday, Sugimoto finished his front nine strong with three consecutive birdies on the sixth, the par-4, 382-yard seventh and the par-3, 235-yard eighth. After a double bogey on the par-4, 415-yard 11th and a bogey on the 12th, Sugimoto answered with back-to-back birdies on the par-4, 416-yard 14th and the par-5, 474-yard 15th to sign for a 70. Sugimoto went up 12 places on the leaderboard on Wednesday.
 
Lague couldn't follow the success for the first two days when he shot a 70 and a 72. Today the freshman shot a 4-over 76 after struggling to a 6-over 42 on the front nine. Lague rebounded on the back nine with a 2-under 34, including four birdies (par-4, 385-yard 10th, the 12th, the par-4, 372-yard 16th and the par-3, 181-yard 17th). His roller coaster round included seven pars, five birdies, three bogeys and three double-bogeys.
 
Starting his first tournament of the season, Moss shot a 5-over 77 on Wednesday after going 72 and 73 in the first two rounds. Moss had two birdies on the day - No. 6 and No. 11 - but also five bogeys and a double-bogey.
 
After playing his front nine in 4-over 40, Anupanuebsai bounced back with 34 back nine for a 2-over 74. Anupansuebsai birdied No. 10, No. 12, No. 13 and No. 17 on the back nine following a double bogey on the par-4, 386-yard ninth. He also had four bogeys.
 
Arizona State's David Puig captured medalist honors for a second straight year, finishing at 8-under 208 following a 7-under 65 in today's final round. Wake Forest's Michael Brennan and Arizona State's Cameron Sisk tied for second at 6-under 210, while Texas' Travis Vick and Pepperdine's Derek Hitchner tied for fourth at -5.
 
The Aztecs next compete in The Prestige presented by Charles Schwab at PGA West, Feb. 21-23, in La Quinta, California.
 
Southwestern Invitational
Westlake Village, Calif.
Day Three Results (Round 3 of 3)
North Ranch C.C. (Lakes/Oaks)
Par 72, 6,992 yards
 
Team Standings (Top 5 of 12 teams + SDSU)
1. No. 3 Arizona State…283-275-276--834 (-30)
2. No. 7 Pepperdine…287-277-283--847 (-17)
3. No. 21 Washington…289-280-287--856 (-8)
4. No. 13 Georgia…279-288-296--863 (-1)
5. No. 14 Wake Forest…295-286-288--869 (+5)
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6. San Diego State…290-290-291--871 (+7)
 
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 64 players + SDSU)
1. David Puig (Arizona State)…73-70-65--208 (-8)
T2. Michael Brennan (Wake Forest)…70-70-70--210 (-6)
T2. Cameron Sisk (Arizona State)…71-67-72--210 (-6)
T4. Travis Vick (Texas)…70-67-74--211 (-5)
T4. Derek Hitchner (Pepperdine)…71-70-70--211 (-5)
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22. Zihao Jin (San Diego State)…73-73-71--217 (+1)
T23. Steve Sugimoto (San Diego State)…76-72-70--218 (+2)
T23. Shea Lague (San Diego State)…70-72-76--218 (+2)
T31. Jackson Moss (San Diego State)…72-73-77--222 (+6)
39. Puwit Anupansuebsai (San Diego State)…75-76-74--225 (+9)