San Diego State's P.J. Samiere
(San Diego State Athletics Photo)
PEBBLE BEACH, CA (October 26, 2016) -- No. 20 San Diego State took the lead in the second round of the Saint Mary's Invitational and then wrapped up the title on Wednesday. For the Aztecs it was their second win of the fall season after previously winning the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate. Thanks to a 10-under final day San Diego State was able to finish 1-over and well clear of second place St. Mary's.
“We came together as a team during the last two rounds and fought through a lot of adversity,” said SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan. “Poppy Hills is an extremely challenging course, but nobody panicked. We remained patient and committed to our game plan, trying not to get everything back all at once.”
Playing at Poppy Hills Golf Club San Diego State was paced by junior P.J. Samiere who finished 2-under in second place. Samiere rebounded from a first round 6-over 77 to fire scores of 67-67. On Wednesday the 2016 Southwestern Amateur Champion began his round with a 2nd hole bogey before birdieing five holes the rest of the way.
Besides Samiere two other Aztecs finished inside the top-10. Senior Gunn Yang (E) was fourth and in a tie for sixth it was senior Nahum Mendoza III (+3).
The medalist honors went to St. Mary's freshman Eduardo Carrete. A top-ranked junior player from Mexico, Carrette finished 3-under and one-stroke in front of Samiere as he picked up the first win of his collegiate career.
Carrete won the title in wire-to-wire fashion by posting scores of 69-68-73. In his final round Carrete rolled in three birdies during the middle of his round and then held on down the stretch by overcoming three back nine bogeys. Overall Carrete birdied the mentioned three times and bogeyed five times.
“It is great,” Carrete said of his break through win. “My first year as a collegiate golfer and to win a medalist honor, it feels great. Today was a bit of a struggle for me, but overall, I thought I played well over the three days. I played smart and hit good shots.”
Carrete made it interesting on the final hole, putting his second shot into a bunker 50 yards short of the green but he was able to get up and down for par to secure the victory.
“That was not the finish I wanted to have,” said Carrete. “I hit a poor 3-wood left into the bunker. I tried to hit it on the green and just make a two-putt. It was definitely not the finish that I wanted I was really nervous, the team that I have, my parents were here. They came from Mexico to see me and the team so it was a great weekend for me.”
The only other player to finish under-par was third place finisher George Cunningham or Arizona at 1-under.
The team top-five of the team standings included St. Mary's (+13) in second, San Francisco (+29) was third, in fourth it was Fresno State (+31) while Arizona (+32) was fifth.
-San Diego State and St. Mary's Athletics contributed to this story
View results for Saint Mary's Invitational
ABOUT THE Saint Mary's Invitational
54-hole men's college tournament hosted by
St.
Mary's College (CA). Team (best four scores out
of five
players each round) and individual
competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information