Prior to their first round on Feb. 25, San Diego State was ranked 13th out of the 15 teams going into the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas, an event that included 14 teams ranked in the top 50 and three in the top 5.
Despite the loaded field, the Aztecs — currently ranked 33rd — placed sixth in the event, shooting a team total of 7-over-par for three rounds at Southern Highlands Country Club.
SDSU finished one stroke ahead of No. 1 North Carolina and placed above No. 34 Missouri, No. 16 New Mexico, No. 29 Georgia, No. 30 Texas A&M and No. 4 Arizona State.
Junior Shea Lague came in first for the Aztecs, finishing in ninth place out of 75 golfers at 2-under. Lague recorded two bogeys and four birdies in the first round to card a 2-under 70. In the second round, Lague recorded 14 pars en route to carding an even-par 72 to jump up five spots.
In the final round, Lague shot another even-par 72 with four birdies and four bogeys to finish in the ninth, his first top-10 finish of the spring season.
Following one stroke behind Lague was sophomore Tyler Kowack, who finished in a tie for twelfth. In the first round, Kowack recorded three birdies, an eagle, two bogeys and a double-bogey to card a 1-under 71. The sophomore’s second round was more of the same, with another eagle on the par-5 ninth hole, five birdies and four bogeys to card a 2-under 70.
Going into the final round, Kowack was in a tie for sixth at 3-under. After the first nine holes, Kowack was at 4-under for the tournament, but he shot 3-over in his last nine holes to card a 2-over 74 and finish the tournament at 1-under.
Sophomore Chanachon Chokprajakchat finished in third for the Aztecs at 2-over. Just like Kowack and Lague, Chokprajakchat also shot under par in the first, carding a 1-under 71 with four birdies. In the second round, the sophomore recorded five bogeys and two birdies to card a 3-over 75.
In the final round, Chokprajakchat jumped five spots after recording five birdies and five bogeys to card an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 21st.
Coming in fourth for SDSU was junior Justin Hastings, who started the tournament with a birdie frenzy, going 4-under through his first 14 holes.
After two bogeys, Hastings finished the day at 2-under. In the second round, Hastings continued to record bogeys, carding a 9-over 81 that included five bogeys and two double-bogeys. In the final round, Hastings shot a 1-over 73 with five birdies, one bogey and two double-bogeys to finish in a tie for 56th.
Junior Jack Townsend shot a 9-over 81 in the first round and a 5-over 77 in the final round. However, Townsend was disqualified from the tournament after signing an incorrect scorecard for his second round.
Oklahoma won the team event at 8-under. Auburn finished three strokes behind Oklahoma to secure second place and Texas finished in third at 2-over. Florida’s Ian Gilligan won the individual competition at 8-under.
The Aztecs will host their lone tournament of the season, the San Diego Classic, at the San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, California, from March 4–5.
