San Diego State was barely pinging on the radar at the start of the final round of the Southwestern Invitational. Down seven shots with 18 holes to go, the Aztecs got to work early and stayed the course. On a brutally tough scoring day at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California, San Diego State’s closing 5 over effort was the best round of the day by eight shots.
As the teams surrounding San Diego State on the leaderboard dropped back with big numbers, San Diego State lurked and then overtook them. When Aztec junior Youssef Guezzale holed a final birdie at No. 18 – his third in the last four holes – he gave a big arm pump. It was official: San Diego State has secured its spot above runner-up (and 36-hole leader) Arizona State for the win.
The ending, which played out on Golf Channel, was truly one fit for the TV cameras.
After he picked up the team trophy, head coach Ryan Donovan revealed the thinking in the Aztecs camp: Why not us?
“That’s been our slogan all semester and we’ve been sticking to it,” Donovan said. “We have great team chemistry and these guys have been working hard.”
The Southwestern field was largely made up of Pac-12 schools, and none of those programs were allowed to compete in the fall because of COVID. San Diego State, in the Mountain West Conference, also didn’t play.
At North Ranch, San Diego State’s 10-over total was three better than ASU. SMU was third at 18 over, following by Louisville in fourth and Pepperdine in fifth.
“We’re just going to keep doing what we do and lay low and work hard,” Donovan said.
Guezzale led the Aztecs with his T-3 individual finish at even par. Three teammates finished inside the top 20.
ASU sophomore David Puig won the individual title by a remarkable nine shots with his 10-under total.
