Westlake Village, Calif.----- A good first nine holes was offset by a tough finishing nine for the San José State University men's golf team in its opening round of the 2021 season at the 42nd annual Southwestern Invitational.
Playing in the middle foursomes of the day on the par 72, 6992-yard North Ranch Country Club course, the Spartans finished with a five-person team score of 319 and are 12th in the 12-team field.
Despite the winds gusting to 30 miles an hour and temperatures in the 40's throughout the day, San José State was in good position at six-over par after each of its five players had completed nine holes. No team made the turn under par. San Diego State had the best team score after nine at two-over par, only four better than the Spartans.
But, the back nine was a different story, especially the final five holes for San Jose State. The Spartans were able to count two birdies, one each by Sean Yu and Caleb Shetler, and four pars out of 20 scoring possibilities.
Yu, two-under through 13 holes with three birdies, finished with a team best six-over 78. Nate Jetter, even par through eight and three-over par after 13, turned in a seven-over 79. Shetler and Carl Corpus, two-over par heading to the 14th hole, each finished with an 81. In his San Jose State debut, Kristopher Stiles posted a 93.
Playing as an individual entry in the 66-player field, junior Bryce Wortman had the lowest Spartan score with his five-over 77. He was the steadiest of San Jose State player with 12 pars and a birdie for his first 18.
Arizona State, like the Spartans in its first tournament since March 2020, is the team leader at four-over 292. The Sun Devils played their first nine holes in three-over par and was able to stay away from double bogeys or more from its counting scores for the final eight holes.
SMU is second at 293 and San Diego State, also in its first tournament of the season, is third at 294. Louisville at 296 and Southern California at 301 complete out the top-five teams.
Southern California's Shane French, Noah Goodwin of SMU, and David Puig of Arizona State share the individual lead with two-under par 70's. Ryggs Johnston of Arizona State and Matthias Schmid of Louisville are the only other players under par heading into the January 26 second round with one-under 71's. Six more players matched par.
The 54-hole tournament continues with 18 holes on January 26 starting at 9:10 a.m. (PT) and concludes with a final 18 holes on January 27. GOLF Channel will continue its live three-hour coverage each day beginning at 1:30 p.m. (PT).
42nd annual Southwestern Invitational men's golf tournament
North Ranch Country Club, Westlake Village, Calif.
Par 72, 6,992 yards
| Team scores |
|
| 1. Arizona State |
292 |
| 2. SMU |
293 |
| 3. San Diego State |
294 |
| 4. Louisville |
296 |
| 5. Southern California |
301 |
| 6. Georgia Tech |
303 |
| 7. East Tennessee State |
305 |
| California |
305 |
| 9. Pepperdine |
308 |
| 10. Saint Mary's (Calif.) |
316 |
| Augusta |
316 |
| 12. San Jose State |
319 |
| Individual leaders |
|
| 1. Shane Ffrench, Southern California |
70 (-2) |
| Noah Goodwin, SMU |
70 (-2) |
| David Puig, Arizona State |
70 (-2) |
| 4. Ryggs Johnston, Arizona State |
71 (-1) |
| Matthias Schmid, Louisville |
71 (-1) |
| San Jose State scores |
|
| 28. Bryce Wortman (Ind.) |
77 (+5) |
| 38. Sean Yu |
78 (+6) |
| 44. Nate Jetter |
79 (+7) |
| 53. Caleb Shetler |
81 (+9) |
| 53. Carl Corpus |
81 (+9) |
| 66. Kristopher Stiles |
93 (+21) |
| (Ind.) – played as an individual entry |
|
