Aztecs Tied for Fourth at Southwestern Invitational

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- The 20th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team shot an even-par 288 on a cold and wet Monday, and is tied for fourth place after the first round of the Southwestern Invitational in Westlake Village, California.
 
The Aztecs, who are ranked 20th in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, while the computer rankings have them 19th (GolfStat) and 20th (Golfweek/Sagarin), rallied down the stretch on the par-72, 7,017-yard North Ranch Country Club, going 3-under par over the final five holes for their four counting scorers.
 
SDSU is in tie for fourth with Georgia, which is ranked 32nd in the GolfStat rankings. Only three out of the 12 teams shot under par, led by Texas (No. 20 in GolfStat) at 18-under 270, Arizona State (No. 4 in GolfStat) at 13-under 275 and Oregon (No. 26 in GolfStat) at 4-under 284. Host Pepperdine (No. 14 in GolfStat) and Washington (No. 29 in GolfStat) are tied for sixth at 2-over, while Wake Forest (No. 34 in GolfStat) is still in the mix at +4. UCLA is in ninth at +7, and UNLV (+9), San José State (+10) and USC (+12) round out the competing teams.
 
Like he did in the fall, sophomore Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) continued to shine, opening with a 5-under 67 today, tied with Arizona State's Michael Mjaaseth and Texas' Keaton Vo for third out of 66 golfers. Lague, who led San Diego State with a 69.00 stroke average in fall play and is ranked 20th in the latest GolfStat individual ratings (Nov. 14), sank six birdies on the day, including three straight holes on the par-5, 493-yard sixth, the par-4, 382-yard seventh and the par-3, 235-yard eighth. Following his lone bogey on the par-4, 386-yard ninth, Lague notched birdies on the par-4, 410-yard 10th, the par-5, 526-yard 12th and the par-5, 474-yard 15th to sign for his 67.
 
Sophomore Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands), meanwhile, fired a 2-under 70 and is tied for 10th. Hastings was at 1-over through 13 holes but shot 3-under over his final five with birdies on the par-4, 416-yard 14th, No. 15 and the par-4, 424-yard 18th. In all, he recorded six birdies and four bogeys.
 
A pair of freshmen rounded out the Aztec scorers as Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge HS) shot a 2-over 74 (T-33rd) and Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand) carded a 5-over 77 (T-53rd). Oyama had three birdies, but five bogeys, including four on the back nine. Chokprajakchat's lone birdie came on the 10th, which was offset by four bogeys and a double bogey on the 12th.
 
Senior Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS) shot a 10-over 82, but did log four birdies, including the par-5, 581-yard fourth, No. 6, No. 15 and the par-4, 372-yard 16th.
 
The pairings for Tuesday's second round had not been released as of 5:08 p.m. PT Monday but will be posted when available.
 
Southwestern Invitational
Westlake Village, Calif.
Round One Results
North Ranch C.C. (Lakes/Oaks)
Par 72, 7,017 yards
 
Team Standings (Top 5 of 12 teams) (rankings are GolfStat computer rankings)
1. No. 20 Texas…270 (-18)
2. No. 4 Arizona State…275 (-13)
3. No. 26 Oregon…284 (-4)
T4. No. 19 San Diego State…288 (E)
T4. No. 32 Georgia…288 (E)
 
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 66 players + SDSU)
1. Jacob Sousa (Texas)…61 (-11)
2. Luke Potter (Arizona State)…65 (-7)
T3. Shea Lague (San Diego State)…67 (-5)
T3. Michael Mjaaseth (Arizona State)…67 (-5)
T3. Keaton Vo (Texas)…67 (-5)
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T10. Justin Hastings (San Diego State)…70 (-2)
T33. Dylan Oyama (San Diego State)…74 (+2)
T53. Chanachon Chokprajakchat (San Diego State)…77 (+5)
66. Youssef Guezzale (San Diego State)…72 (+10)