April 3, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State's Aaron Goldberg (Encinitas, Calif.) has been named the Mountain West Conference men's golfer of the month for March, the league office announced Thursday. The Aztec senior earned his second straight monthly honor of the 2007-08 season and the fifth of his career, joining UNLV's Ryan Moore as the only players to have won the award at least five times since the conference's inception in 1999.

A model of consistency throughout the month, Goldberg logged three top-six finishes in March, helping San Diego State to a pair of tournament titles and one second-place showing. At the Fresno State Lexus Classic, March 10-11, Goldberg carded a combined 5-under-par 211 to tie for the sixth position out of 103 golfers at the 6,729-yard, par-72 Fort Washington Country Club. His opening-round 67 matched his second-best effort of the spring as SDSU successfully defended its team championship, winning the same event in consecutive years for just the second time since 2000.

At the Barona Collegiate Cup, March 17-18, Goldberg tied for sixth spot once again after shooting a combined 7-under 209 in the Aztecs' third home event of the season. After completing the first 36 holes in a tie for ninth, Goldberg fired a final-round 67 to climb up three places in the 60-player field as SDSU finished second in the team standings. Goldberg also tied for the tournament lead with 39 pars at the sprawling 7,393-yard Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside, Calif., which served as host for the 2007 Nationwide Tour Championship.

The following week at the Oregon Duck Invitational, Goldberg was the Aztecs' top performer after finishing alone in third place at even-par 216. The course layout at the 7,093-yard, par-72 Emerald Valley Golf Club proved difficult for the 64-golfer field as Goldberg was one of just three players to complete the tournament at or below par. Goldberg tied for second with 11 birdies for the week, propelling SDSU to its third team title of the season and second in a three-week span. Goldberg's scores of 71 and 70 over the first 36 holes also gave him a team-leading 14 rounds below par on the year.

For the season, Goldberg leads the team with a 70.93 stroke average, which is also tops in the Mountain West Conference among players who have completed at least 27 rounds. In six spring tournaments, Goldberg has been equally impressive, compiling a 70.24 scoring average, while posting two runner-up finishes.

Goldberg, who garnered MWC golfer of the month accolades on three occasions during the 2006-07 season, is ranked No. 21 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin performance index, which is the highest position of any MWC player as of March 31.

The Aztecs return to the fairways, April 11-13, when they compete in the ASU Thunderbird Invitational at Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. SDSU will be gunning for its fourth team title of the season and third of the spring after capturing the aforementioned Duck Invite crown on March 25.