Men’s golf prepares for Las Vegas invitational


While most students will head off to exotic locales for their spring break, the USC men’s golf team is heading to Las Vegas. Unlike their peers, however, they aren’t heading there for a week of lounging and partying. The Trojans will kick off their break at the Southern Highlands Collegiate golf tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Southern Highlands golf club.

The team is coming off of a fairly strong opening this season, with a fifth place finish at the Mauna Lani Invitational in Honolulu, HI, and an 8th place finish at the USC Collegiate Invitational in Westlake, Calif.

USC will face many opponents they have seen already this year, as well as a couple new ones. The field includes, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Cal, Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Texas Christian University, Texas, Texas A &M, Texas Tech, UCLA, and UNLV. Despite the deep field, USC remains unphased:

“We don’t really worry about the other teams,” said freshman Jeffery Kang. “We’ve just gotta stick together and play well.”

Golfing this weekend for the Trojans are Kang, junior Steve Lim, freshman Ramsey Sahyoun, sophomore Stewart Hagestad and sophomore Sam Smith.

Lim has had a solid season so far, finishing 22nd in Honolulu with a strong 4-under-par 212 (70, 73, 69) and 27th in Westlake with a 5-over-par 218 (69, 81, 68).

Kang has also played well this season, finishing 59th at the competitive invitational in Honolulu with a 2-over-par 218 (68, 81, 71). He stepped up his performance in Westlake, tying for 29th place with a 6-over-par 219 (70, 79, 70).

Sahyoun has also appeared twice this season, hitting a 2-over-par 218 (68, 81, 71) in Honolulu for 51st place, and tying Kang in Westlake with a 6-over-par 219 (71, 77, 71)

Hagestad and Smith both played as individuals at the invitational in Westlake, where Hagestad made the strongest Trojan appearance, finishing 14th at 2-over-par 215 (72, 72, 71). Smith tied for 29th with a 6-over-par 219 (72, 76, 71).

The Trojans belive that they have a good shot this weekend, due to their preparation and skill.

“I think we’re at the point where things are really starting to come together. The goal every week is to get out there and play well, and hopefully that leads to a win,” Kang said.

The Trojans hope to find success this weekend as they prepare for the upcoming championships.