Steele Canyon High School alumnus Shea Lague experienced his moment in time during last weekend’s Mountain West Conference golf championship tournament at the Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell, Ore.
Lague, a junior with the San Diego State University men’s team, fired a final-round 2-under par 70 to finish the three rounds of regulation play at 6-under 210 to place runner-up in the 55-deep field — just one stroke behind Boise State’s Cole Rueck, who claimed the individual conference-championship at -7.
Lague wasn’t finished with the accolades as he helped the Aztecs win their third consecutive MW team title as SDSU defeated New Mexico in a one-hole playoff to become the first team to win three consecutive conference titles since UNLV accomplished the feat in 2016-18.
The Aztecs, who which entered this year’s tournament ranked 31st, are only the third MW program to claim three consecutive titles and now have notched six MW championships overall, passing UNLV into sole possession of second place in league history. SDSU trails only the eight MW titles claimed by New Mexico. The Lobos won four consecutive titles from 2003-06.
By winning the conference title, the Aztecs picked up the conference’s guaranteed spot in an NCAA regional.
Man of Steele
Lague was at 3-under with three birdies and no bogeys through 14 holes, but bogeyed the par-4, 390-yard 15th and parred out to sign for a 70 in Sunday’s final round.
UNLV’s Caden Fioroni and Fresno State’s Matthew Sutherland finished a shot behind Lague in third at -5, while New Mexico’s Albert Boneta and Colorado State’s Connor Jones each tied for fifth at -4.
Lague keyed the Aztecs with a 67 in the opening round but fell off the pace with a 73 in round two.
New Mexico, which was ranked 20th, had four players finish in the top 10. Boneta matched Rueck for the low round of the day with a 68, pushing him 15 positions up the leaderboard into a tie for fifth at 4-under 212. Matthew Watkins shot 71 Sunday to finish at 213 in a tie for seventh, and Bastien Amat and Carson Herron tied for ninth at 2-under 214. Amat jumped 19 places in the standings with a 3-under 69 to cap the tournament.
SDSU junior Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) shot 1-under 71 in the final round to tie for seventh place at 3-under 213 for the tournament. He posted four birdies on the day, including two over the final four holes, to offset three bogeys.
The Aztecs entered the final day of the tournament tied for second with San Jose State and two shots behind Colorado State but shot a 3-under-par 285 on Sunday and finished tied with the Lobos at -11 after regulation.
The Aztecs pulled even with the Lobos with one group to play in regulation,
Red and Black
SDSU sophomore Chanachon Chokprajakchat (Bangkok, Thailand) and Hastings both birdied the par-5, 577-yard 18th hole to draw the Aztecs even, but Lague’s birdie attempt lipped out on 18, forcing a one-hole playoff.
Both teams went back to the 18 tee box to play the hole again. No. 20 New Mexico exited the first fivesome with a one-stroke lead thanks to Oliver Cage’s birdie. With the Aztecs needing a two-stroke swing from the second fivesome — sophomore Tyler Kowack (Canyon Crest Academy) and Hastings — both birdied to secure SDSU’s conference three-peat.
Colorado State finished third at -8, while San Jose State was the only other team under par at -2. Fresno State and Nevada each tied for fifth at +1.
Chokprajakchat carded a 1-under 71 to finish tied for 13th at even-par 216. He sank third birdies on the day with two bogeys (none over the final 13 holes, moving up 15 spots for the round.
Senior Jackson Moss (Point Loma High School) tied for 32nd at +4 with a 1-over 73 on Sunday. Moss had two birdies and three bogeys in his final round.
Kowack tied for 36th overall at +5 with a 5-over 77 today. Kowack opened with a 2-over 74 on Friday and got back to even-par with a 70 on Saturday but went 5-over over his final five holes, dropping from even-par to +5 for the tournament before making the big birdie in the playoff.
The NCAA regionals will take place at at six sites May 13-15, followed by the NCAA championship tournament May 24-29 at Carlsbad’s Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
