THREE FORMER AZTECS TO COMPETE AT FARMERS INSURANCE OPEN

Ex-SDSU stars J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Todd Baek to tee off Thursday 

Source: goaztecs.com

Photo:  Xander Schauffele courtesy goaztecs.com

January 25, 2017 (San Diego) - Former San Diego State men’s golf stars J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele and Todd Baek are all scheduled to compete this week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif.

Spaun is slated to tee off Thursday morning at 9:50 a.m. on North Course’s 10th hole, along with Ryan Blaum and Seamus Power, while Schauffele will be paired with Wesley Bryan and Aaron Wise in the following group at 10 a.m. Over on the South Course, Baek will join Bryson DeChambeau and Bobby Wyatt for an 11 a.m. start on hole No. 10.

As a collegian, Spaun twice earned All-America distinction by both the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and Golfweek. He won five tournaments during his career at San Diego State, which is tied for the most in school history with Aztec Hall of Famer Lennie Clements.

In addition, Spaun garnered Mountain West Player of the Year accolades as a senior in 2012 and collected three straight all-conference certificates. He ended that season ranked 17th by Golfstat.com and 21st nationally by Golfweek after leading SDSU to its best-ever Division I team finish with a fifth-place tie in the match-play portion of the NCAA Championships.

Like Spaun, Schauffele landed on two All-America teams in the same year, meriting third-team recognition from the GCAA and Golfweek following a stellar senior campaign in 2015. That season, the San Diego native picked up his third consecutive all-MW honor and second straight all-West Region award after pacing the Aztecs with eight top-five individual placements, including an individual title at the Barona Collegiate Cup, where established a school record for lowest score in relation to par with a 17-under 199.

Schauffele also holds the SDSU standard for the best 54-hole score in a conference tournament after carding a 9-under 204 at the 2015 MW Championships, where he finished a solo second.

Both Spaun and Schauffele earned their PGA Tour cards last fall. Since then, Spaun has competed in seven events, including a 28th finish at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where he fired a season-best 10-under 274 last November.

Schauffele has participated in seven tournaments so far this season as well, highlighted by a fifth-place tie last October at the Sanderson Farms Championships in Jackson, Miss., where he shot a 15-under 273.

Baek, meanwhile, has played in 53 Web.com Tour events since 2013, recording five top-10 finishes. He has also seen action on the PGA Tour China circuit, emerging victorious with a five-stroke win at the Chateau Junding Penglai Open in 2014.

In his only full season at SDSU in 2010-11, Baek received PING All-America honorable mention and earned a spot on the GCAA all-freshman team after posting a 10th-place individual finish at the NCAA Championships with a combined 1-under 217. He is just one of five Aztec players to break 200 in a 54-hole tournament after posting a 14-under 199 at the 2011 Alister MacKenzie Invitational.

The 2017 Farmers Insurance Open marks the 65th year a PGA Tour event has been conducted in San Diego and the 50th time the tournament has been held at Torrey Pines Golf Course.

San Diego State opens its spring schedule next month when it competes in The Prestige at PGA West, Feb. 20-22, in La Quinta, California.