Travelling over 2,000 miles is quite the disadvantage for anybody, but the Aztecs have never been ones to make excuses.
“They’re hungry, they just want to compete, and so we’re going to treat it that way,” head coach Ryan Donovan said. “[We] won’t make it a big deal that we’re going across the country, and like I said, we’ll plan on being here in La Costa a week after.”
As the end of the regular season approached, the Scarlet and Black put their foot on the gas pedal, ensuring their game was in peak condition for the postseason.
They secured their second team win of the season at the 78th Western Intercollegiate, winning by five strokes over Stanford despite not having any individuals in the top-5 standings.
This gave the Aztecs all the confidence they needed coming into the Mountain West Championship at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Oregon. The first round set the tone for the weekend as SDSU built a nine-stroke lead at 19-under par, with each player shooting below 70.
The second round followed a similar trend, shooting even lower than the day before. With a team score of 25-under, the Aztecs were ahead of San Jose State by 22 strokes.
Senior star Justin Hastings had a lot to do with the round two success, shooting a tournament low of 62, 10-under par. Freshman phenom Harry Takis also made a major contribution, shooting 65, 7-under par. They both finished their rounds without a single bogey.
Coming into the final round of the tournament, SDSU was faced with some adversity. Junior Chanachon Chokprajakchat was unable to compete due to back spasms, giving sophomore Dylan Oyama the chance to make an impact.
“We had to put in Dylan 30 minutes before we teed off the final round of conference, but he stepped up and shot one-under,” Donovan said.
The depth of this roster proved its strength, as they were able to finish the tournament 10-under on the final day. Through all three rounds, SDSU combined for a total of 54-under par, securing their fourth consecutive Mountain West Championship by 23 strokes over UNLV.
Hastings finished the weekend at 18-under par, making him the individual champion of the tournament, which was followed by Takis at 14-under. With both of SDSU’s stars finding themselves at the top of the leaderboard, the confidence seems to be through the roof coming into the next event.
“It’s high, but more importantly, it’s high in everybody around me. I think that’s what’s so important, the team aspect is that there’s a lot of belief flowing through the room right now,” Hastings said.
Last week, the Aztecs found their location for the NCAA Regionals during the Selection Show on the Golf Channel.
They were selected as the No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Region, amongst No. 1 Ole Miss and No. 2 Florida State. FSU is most known for having junior superstar Luke Clanton, who secured his PGA TOUR Card this year and is No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
However, the Aztecs aren’t worried about anyone’s game besides their own.
“It’s easy to look at the other teams and kind of match yourself up…but I think we’ve learned from the past that that’s not really the way to do this,” Hastings said. “To really focus on what you have going on in your room and doing what you can do, that’s going to be the best way to get us through.
SDSU will head to the Seminole Legacy Golf Club, hosted by Florida State, in Tallahassee, starting May 12-14.
The Aztecs look to place in the top 5 in their region to secure a spot in the NCAA Championship. This will be hosted at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, putting SDSU on their home turf in hopes of becoming national champions.
“I just want as many people and fans to come out and support us. I think the energy will be amazing being here in San Diego,” Donovan said.
