The 20th-ranked Aztecs traveled to the Ocean Course at Hokuala in Lihue, HI to participate in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate on Feb. 13-15.
They found themselves behind the eight ball at the conclusion of play on Thursday as they were 21 shots off the lead. All five SDSU golfers were over par and the four counting scores produced 20 bogeys or worse. The lowest score was a one-over 71 by freshman Harry Takis.
As the Aztecs geared up for their 11:00 a.m. shotgun start on Friday morning, their mentality shifted; the team performed a full 180-degree turn. Every golfer was in red numbers and only 13 bogeys or worse were scattered across the four counting scores.
SDSU’s seven-under second round was championed by standout senior Justin Hastings. He eagled his second hole of the day (par-5 10th), propelling him to a three-under 67. Hastings also carded four birdies and only two bogeys or worse in Friday’s round two action.
Finishing just one shot behind Hastings was senior Shea Lague. Similar to his senior teammate, Lague took advantage of the par-5 holes, making birdie on hole two and par on hole 10. His birdie on two was one of his six total birdies on Friday. He finished two-under on the round.
The other two counting scores for round two came via the aforementioned first-round team leader Takis and junior Chanachon Chokprajakchat. Each Aztec fired a one-under 69, totaling 11 birdies and only eight bogeys or worse.
As the sunlight fell over Hokuala’s Ocean Course, SDSU found themselves in a better frame of mind entering the final round.
The Aztecs were still relatively distant from the top of the leaderboard come championship Saturday. Near-perfect golf was needed if SDSU wanted to hoist the trophy in Hawaii.
Despite falling short of near-perfection, the familiar presence of Hastings and Takis was not going to let the Aztecs go down without a fight.
Hastings birdied both par-5s and tacked on four more birdies to end his tournament with a five-under 65. He narrowly missed a bogey-free 18 holes by one shot (bogey on the par-4 3rd hole).
Takis nearly matched Hastings’ card again in round three, finishing the final round with a three-under 67. He also birdied both of the par-5s and only had one bogey on Saturday (occurred on the par-4 6th hole).
The highlight of the Aztecs’ final round was a hole-out eagle from Chanachon Chokprajakchat on the par-4 11th hole. His precise approach shots enabled him to make four birdies in addition to the eagle. Unfortunately, two bogeys or worse raised his third-round score to a two-under 68.
Lague posted the final counting score for SDSU on Saturday, firing an even-par 70.
A consistent theme throughout every round at the John A. Burns Invitational was par-5 scoring. Since the Ocean Course at Hokuala is a par-70, it only consists of two par-5s. Statistically, the easiest holes on the course were the two par-5s (holes 2 and 10). If any team was going to have success, taking advantage of the undemanding holes was a must.
The Aztecs answered the call, playing Hokuala’s par-5s at 15-under for the tournament, averaging 4.50 shots per par-5.
Also, SDSU cracked the top 3 in birdies made throughout the three rounds, tallying 58 of them as a team.
However, the Aztecs’ opening round score of 14-over par was too much to overcome in the end. SDSU finished in a tie for fifth place (three-under 837) in the team competition.
Individually, Hastings finished four-under (T-8), Takis finished three-under (T-14), Lague finished three-over (T-38), Chokprajakchat finished four-over (T-45) and Tyler Kowack finished seven-over (T-58).
The John A. Burns Intercollegiate crowned the No. 16 Utah Utes and the No. 41 UNLV Rebels (22-under 818) as team co-champions and sophomore Gabriel Palacios (11-under 191) as the individual champion.
The Aztecs will tee it up next at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, NV to compete in UNLV’s Southern Highlands Collegiate Mar. 2-4.
