Despite a tournament-low 22-under-par second round and two Aztecs finishing in the top 10 for individual play, the San Diego State men’s golf team finished fifth at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, one spot short of advancing to Wednesday’s match play.
SDSU was the only school to complete the first two rounds when a weather delay suspended play on Monday. The Aztecs sat in third place at 24-under, before falling to fifth after the rest of the competition completed their second rounds on Tuesday morning.
Going into the final round, SDSU sat four strokes behind LSU for a spot in the match play portion. The Aztecs carded a final round 7-under 281, but couldn’t make up the difference as LSU narrowly advanced by one stroke.
Although SDSU didn’t make it to Wednesday’s team competition, the Aztecs had top performances in the individual section. Sophomore Tyler Kowack and junior Justin Hastings both finished in the top 10 out of the 42 golfers in the tournament.
Kowack continued his hot play this season, shooting two 3-under-par 69s and a 6-under-par 66 in the second round. Kowack also tallied an impressive 16 birdies for the event. He finished the tournament in a tie for fifth place, at 12-under.
Hastings finished a stroke behind Kowack at 11-under for the tournament. He recorded a 2-under 70, a 5-under 67 and a 4-under 68 in his three rounds.
Just like Kowack, Hastings found himself recording a lot of birdies, including three birdies in a four-hole stretch in the final round. Hastings finished in a tie for seventh place for the event.
Coming in third for the Aztecs was sophomore Chanachon Chokprajakchat. The sophomore carded a 1-over 71 in the first round but came storming back in the second round with a 7-under 65 that included five birdies in nine holes. Chokprajakchat couldn’t continue the momentum, shooting a 2-over 74 in the final round and finished the tournament in a tie for 24th.
Following Chokprajakchat was sophomore Dylan Oyama, who carded a 3-over 75, a 4-under 68 and a 1-over 73 in his three rounds. Through the first nine holes of his final round, Oyama found himself at 2-over par. Oyama was able to rebound, recording three birdies and a bogey in his final nine holes, putting himself in a tie for 34th place to end the event.
Junior Shea Lague rounded out the group, finishing the tournament in a tie for 36th place. Lague got better as the event went on, recording a 2-over 74, a 1-over 73 and a 1-under 71 in his three rounds.
The Aztecs’ get some time off until they return to action in the spring at the Southwestern Invitational, hosted by Pepperdine University at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California, from Jan. 29-31.
