SALEM, S.C. -- The San Diego State men's golf team moved up four places into a tie for eighth following an 8-under-par 280 in the second round of the NCAA Salem Regional Tuesday on the par-72, 7,126-yard The Cliffs at Keowee Falls in Salem, South Carolina.
Starting the day in a tie for 12th after a 4-under, the Aztecs, ranked No. 23 in the latest Golfstat ratings, are now tied with No. 14 Texas A&M in eighth place out of the 14 teams. The top-5 teams and top individual not on a qualifying team after Wednesday's final round advance to the NCAA Championship, slated for May 26-31, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
No. 35 Arkansas leads at 39-under through two rounds, while No. 11 Georgia Tech (-32), No. 2 North Carolina (-25), No. 47 New Mexico (-25) and Northern Illinois (-23) round out the top 5. No. 26 Georgia Southern (-18) and host Clemson (-16) are also ahead of SDSU and Texas A&M.
San Diego State has three players in an eight-way tie for 37th place at 1-under 143 through 36 holes in senior Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS), freshman Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif./Pacific Ridge HS) and sophomore Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS).
Guezzale shot a 2-under 70 in today's second round. Starting on the 10th hole, Guezzale got to 3-under with his fourth birdie of the day on the par-4, 415-yard sixth hole, but bogeyed the par-5, 609-yard ninth to sign for the 70.
Oyama, the MW Freshman of the Year and MW Championship medalist, carded a 1-under 71. Oyama sank his fifth birdie of the round on the par-4, 369-yard third hole to reach 4-under for the day but bogeyed three of the next four holes to settle for a 71.
Lague, meanwhile, shot an even-par 72. Starting off with a bogey on the 10th, Lague birdied the par-4, 419-yard 12th, eagled the par-5, 537-yard 16th and birdied the par-5, 546-yard 18th to get to 3-under at the turn. It was the last birdie of the round for Lague, however, as he bogeyed the par-4, 476-yard fourth, the par-4, 366-yard eighth and the ninth to finish at even-par for the round.
Sophomore Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands), who was in a tie for 13th following a 4-under 68 yesterday, slipped to a tie for 45th after a 4-over 76 on Tuesday. Hastings birdied the 10th and each of the final three holes of his front nine with a lone bogey on the par-3, 217-yard 13th to make the turn at 3-under 33. Back-to-back double bogeys on the par-4, 410-yard first and the par-5, 582-yard second, and three more bogeys the rest of the way saw him shoot a 7-over 43 on the back, finishing at 76.
The round of the day for the Aztecs went to Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand). Chokprajakchat, who replaced classmate Tyler Kowack (Del Mar, Calif./La Jolla HS) in the lineup for Tuesday's second round, shot a 5-under 67. He notched four birdies on his front nine and six for the round, offset by a lone bogey on the 12th.
North Carolina's Ryan Burnett followed up his 63 with a 4-under 68 today and leads the field at 13-under 131. Clemson's Andrew Swanson and Arkansas' Segundo Pinto are a shot back at -12, while Georgia Tech's Christo Lamprecht (-11) and Wil Gibson (-10) have also reached double-digits under par.
San Diego State tees off from the first hole at 8:55 a.m. ET (5:55 a.m. PT) along with No. 14 Texas A&M and host Clemson.
2023 NCAA Salem Regional
Day Two Results (May 16, 2023)
Salem, S.C.
The Cliffs at Keowee Falls
Par 72, 7,126 yards
Team Standings (Top 5 of 14 + SDSU)
1. No. 35 Arkansas…266-271—537 (-39)
2. No. 11 Georgia Tech…278-266—544 (-32)
T3. No. 2 North Carolina…273-278—551 (-25)
T3. No. 47 New Mexico…272-279—551 (-25)
5. Northern Illinois…275-278—553 (-23)
---
T8. No. 23 San Diego State…284-280—564 (-12)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 75 players + SDSU)
1. Ryan Burnett (North Carolina)…63-68—131 (-13)
T2. Andrew Swanson (Clemson)…67-65—132 (-12)
T2. Segundo Pinto (Arkansas)…65-67—132 (-12)
4. Christo Lamprecht (Georgia Tech)…71-62—133 (-11)
5. Wil Gibson (Arkansas)…65-69—134 (-10)
---
T37. Youssef Guezzale (San Diego State)…73-70—143 (-1)
T37. Shea Lague (San Diego State)…71-72—143 (-1)
T37. Dylan Oyama (San Diego State)…72-71—143 (-1)
T45. Justin Hastings (San Diego State)…68-76—144 (E)
nr. Chanachon Chokprajakchat (San Diego State)…DNC-67 (-5)
nr. Tyler Kowack (San Diego State)…78-DNC (+6)
Aztecs Tied for Eighth at NCAA Salem Regional
