Aztecs Set for Cal Poly Invitational

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men’s golf team concludes its fall portion of the 2024-25 schedule when it travels to compete in the Cal Poly Invitational, Oct. 28-29, at The Preserve Golf Club in Carmel, California.

The Aztecs enter the tournament 45th in the latest Scoreboard rankings. Six other teams in the 12-team event are also in the top 50, including No. 10 Utah, No. 15 UCLA, No. 37 Long Beach State, No. 38 Oregon, No. 47 California and No. 48 LMU. Also in the field are host Cal Poly, Colorado State, Fresno State, Grand Canyon and Oregon State.

SDSU will play 36 holes on Monday, and 18 on Tuesday on the par-72, 7,138-yard course. The Aztecs will tee off from holes 11-to-13 at 8:30 a.m. PT Monday.

San Diego State is coming off a solid effort at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup in Oklahoma City last week. The Aztecs finished third of six teams in the invitational event in stroke play at 12-over 852. SDSU then lost to No. 1 Oklahoma in the third-place match in match play on Wednesday. San Diego State moved up 45 spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 90 to No. 45.

Junior Tyler Kowack (San Diego/Canyon Crest Academy) tied for fourth out of 36 golfers in stroke play at 2-over 212 and then won his match play event on Wednesday, the only victory for SDSU, which lost, 3.5-1.5, to the Sooners. Senior Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) and junior Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand) tied for ninth at 4-over 214, freshman Harry Takis (Brisbane, Australia) came in a tie for 14th at +6 and senior Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) came in solo 22nd at +8.

Kowack leads the team through three events with a 71.67 scoring average. Hastings is second at 72.11, followed by Chokprajakchat and Lague at 72.67, and Takis at 73.00

Starting for San Diego State head coach Ryan Donovan this week are Hastings, Kowack, Lague, Chokprajakchat and Takis, with Dylan Oyama (Carlsbad, Calif.) making his season debut as an individual.

The Aztecs are competing in their first Cal Poly Invitational, which debuted in 2022. Ohio State won the 2022 event at 19-under, while California took first place last year at -21.

Designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 2000, the Preserve Golf Club was built within The Santa Lucia Preserve, formerly known as Rancho San Carlos. Located on the southern ridge of Carmel Valley, the course reflects the contours of the natural terrain that surrounds it. The Santa Lucia Mountains, mature oaks, grassy meadows, and flowing streams are the attributes that make the course look like it’s been there far longer than it has. In typical Fazio fashion, expect to find plenty of strategically placed deep bunkers, fast greens, and challenging approach shots. Play at the top of your game in a landscape that rises, falls, and subtly changes from hole to hole, varying the challenge but never the charm. World-class in its ambition and its scope, eighteen holes have been carefully placed throughout 365 acres, routed as a non-returning “golf trail”. Blending all three schools of golf design - penal, heroic, and strategic - the course is a focal point of The Preserve community.

Following the Cal Poly Invitational, San Diego State begins its spring play at the Southwestern Invitational, Jan. 27-29, at Sherwood Country Club in Lake Sherwood, California.