No. 21 Aztecs Ready for John Burns Intercollegiate

SAN DIEGO -- The 21st-ranked San Diego State men's golf team continues its season this weekend at the John Burns Intercollegiate at the Ocean Course at Hokuala, Feb. 16-18, in Lihue, Kaua'i, Hawaii.
 
The Aztecs enter the tournament ranked 21st in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, while the computer rankings have them 20th (GolfStat) and 21st (Golfweek/Sagarin), respectively. SDSU should be challenged by fellow GolfStat top-20 teams Texas A&M (No. 9) and Arizona (No. 19), while Brigham Young (51), California (53), UNCW (57) and Long Beach State (58) are just outside the top 50. Others in the 21-team field include Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Hawai'i, Loyola Marymount, New Mexico, Nevada, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, UNLV, USC, Utah, UTEP and Washington State.
 
The event will feature 18-hole rounds on three consecutive days at the par-72, 6,905-yard course.
 
San Diego State is coming off an eighth-place finish with Wake Forest at the Southwestern Invitational, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, shooting 21-over 885. The Aztecs had one of their most successful fall campaigns in 2022, winning the 19-team William H. Tucker Intercollegiate (Sept. 23-24), finishing second at the 12-team Wolf Pack Intercollegiate (Oct. 10-11) and taking eighth of 18 in a loaded Maui Jim Intercollegiate (Sept. 9-11).
 
Sophomore Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) leads SDSU with a 69.83 stroke average in fall play and is ranked 31st in the latest GolfStat individual ratings (Feb. 14).
 
Lague will be in San Diego State head coach Ryan Donovan's starting five along with sophomore Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) (71.00), freshman Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge HS) (72.00), freshman Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand) (73.11), and senior Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS) (73.33).
 
The Aztecs will tee off between the sixth and ninth holes, beginning at 8:30 a.m. HT (10:30 a.m. PT) and will play along with California, Fresno State and Nevada.
 
SDSU is playing in the John Burns Intercollegiate for the first time since taking fourth in the 2008 event. The 2008 John Burns Intercollegiate was the seventh straight year San Diego State played in the tournament. Back then, the tournament was played in Leilehua. San Diego State has had a history of success in the tournament, capturing the team championship in 2002 and finishing second in 2003. Two Aztecs have also grabbed the individual spotlight with John Lieber and Lars Johansson each taking home medalist honors in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
 
Past individual winners of the John Burns Intercollegiate include notable golfers Steve Pate (1983), Notah Begay (1995), Tiger Woods (1996), Bo Van Pelt (1997), Ryan Moore (2005), Shotaro Ban (2015) and Beau Hossler (2016). Oklahoma State has a won record six Burns titles while California captured five straight titles from 2011-15.
 
In its 46th year, the John A. Burns Intercollegiate is considered the University of Hawai'i's premiere golf tournament. The tournament was held primarily at Kane'ohe Klipper Golf Course before moving to Leilehua Golf Course in 2000 for an 11-year run. The tournament then moved to Turtle Bay Resort from 2011-13 and then to Wailua Golf Course on Kaua'i in 2014 for the next seven years. The tournament remained on Kaua'i, relocating to Ocean Course Hokuala.
 
The tournament is named after former governor of the state of Hawai'i, John A. Burns, who took part in initiating statehood in 1959 and
had a hand in upgrading UH's athletics program. Shortly after his death, his namesake tournament was founded. This tournament reflects back to Burns, the political power who was really a "sportsman at heart."
 
Following the John Burns Intercollegiate, San Diego State plays in the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas.