After getting off to a rough start at The Prestige at PGA West in the opening round on Sunday in La Quinta, Calif., the San Diego State men’s golf team found itself sitting in sixth place behind the likes of unranked Washington, San Francisco and Arizona State.
There was no complacency or quit in the now-14th-ranked Aztecs, entering the second round on Monday, though, as they utilized a 14-under score of 274 to climb into third place.
During the second round, four of SDSU’s five starters shot under par, and left the team feeling optimistic heading into the third and final round on Tuesday.
However, all did not go as planned as the Aztecs came out flat, shot a final-round of 285 and saw themselves slip into fourth place behind Stanford, Washington and tournament champion Oregon in yet another tournament that featured some of the nation’s premier talent on the golf course.
Sophomore Todd Baek shot extremely well throughout the course of the tournament, notching two consecutive 4-under rounds of 68 before shooting a 2-under 70 on Tuesday for a total of 206, finishing in third place. It was also Baek’s third top-five finish of his short collegiate career. The sophomore finished behind Eugene Wong of Oregon and tournament champion Cheng-Tsung Pan, who posted an incredible 7-under 65 to climb from third to first on Tuesday.
SeniorAlex Kang also played solid golf at The Prestige, shooting a team-low 67 on Monday before finishing strong with a 3-under 69 on Tuesday for a total of 207 that tied Kang for fifth place.
Freshman Wilson Bateman and seniors Matt Hoffenberg and J.J. Spaun rounded out the Aztec starting five, finishing in 30th, 49th and 58th, respectively. Bateman entered the final round of what was just his second collegiate tournament at 4-under par, but shot a final round of 74 to finish with a 1-under total of 215.
Hoffenberg, who competed in the Aztec starting five for the first time since March of last year after taking last season off, entered the final round at 1-under but also struggled in the final round, shooting a 4-over 76 that left him with a 3-over total of 219.
The Aztecs will look to perform at a higher level as they travel to The Meadow Club Fairfax for the Alister Mackenzie Invitational, which will take place on Monday and Tuesday.
