San Diego State University’s men’s golf team, keyed by Steele Canyon High School alumnus Shea Lague, finished the fall season ranked 20th in the Bushnell/ Golfweek Division I coaches poll.
Lague, the San Diego Junior Golf Association’s boys championship player of the year in 2021, and his Aztec teammates appear to be picking up where they left off as the calendar has flipped to the spring semester after placing 11th at the University of Arizona National Invitational Tournament March 17-18 in Tucson.
SDSU shot a 1-over-par 289 in the final round to finish at 4-under 860 on the par-72, 7,200-yard Omni Tucson National course. The host Wildcats, ranked 18th in the latest GolfStat computer rankings, won the tournament at 840 (-24) ahead of No. 9 Pepperdine (841, -23) and No. 3 Arizona State (842, -22)
Lague was the Aztecs’ top finisher in a three-way tie for 13th out of 84 golfers at 5-under 211. Lague fired his second straight 2-under 70 in the final round, opening with two birdies in the first three holes and four through his first 10 (along with two bogeys), before recording pars on the final 10 holes.
USC’s Jackson Rivera and Arizona’s Zach Pollo each tied for medalist honors at 13-under 203, three shots clear of Pepperdine’s William Mouw (-10).
Lague has consistently scored high for the young SDSU team in 2022-23. He paced the Aztecs with a 69.0 stroke average in fall play to rank 20th in the GolfStat individual rankings. He led the Aztecs with a 69.53 scoring average through five tournaments and 15 rounds in the spring to garner a 28th place ranking in the GolfStat individual ratings released on Feb. 21.
Lague had a breakout performance at the U.S. Amateur over the summer by advancing all the way to the quarterfinals. He tied for 39th in stroke play at 4-over 145. He defeated No. 14 Hazen Newman in 21 holes in the round of 64 and defeated No. 19 Yuxin Lin, 3 and 2, in the round of 32 before knocking off No. 3 Hugo Townsend in 19 holes in the quarterfinals. He fell to No. 59 Derek Hitchner, 3 and 2, in the quarterfinals.
Lamkin Classic
The Aztecs hosted their lone home tournament of the season, the 16th annual Lamkin Classic, March 6-7 at the historic San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista.
SDSU finished in second place at -19, one shot behind team champion New Mexico (-20).
Sophomore Justin Hastings (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands) tied for second out of 95 players at -8 as SDSU’s top finisher while Lague tied for third at -6 on the is a par-72, 7,033-yards course.
Both Aztec sophomores posted impressive finishes as the two SDSU golfers placed among the top five scorers in the two-day event.
