Courtesy of Utah State
MARICOPA, Arizona — Utah State’s golf team shot an 11-under 277 and is in first place after 18 holes at the 2025 GOLFWEEK National Golf Invitational Championship held here Friday at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club.
Ohio State sits in second place at 10-under 278. Stetson is third at 7-under 281, while George Mason is fourth at 2-under 286 and West Virginia is currently fifth at 1-under 287.
Utah State is participating in the postseason for just the second time in program history, joining the 1981 team that competed in the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Enrique Karg shot a career-low 7-under 65 during his opening round and has a 1 shot lead on the field going into Saturday’s second round. Karg’s 7-under 65 is the lowest individual postseason round in school history.
Karg had a clean card on Friday with seven birdies as he shot 5-under 31 on the front nine and 2-under 34 on the back nine. It was his third round in the 60s this season and the sixth of his career as he now has 11 career rounds under par, including six this season.
It is the second time in his career that Karg has carded a 65, also doing so at the par 71 SIU Edwardsville Invitational last fall.
Senior Julio Arronte is currently tied for third in the tournament after firing a 5-under 67 on Friday. During his round, Arronte posted five birdies, one eagle and two bogeys. He has now shot in the 60s six times this year and 13 times in his career and has 15 rounds under par this season and 30 in his career.
Freshman Toby Heider is tied for 21st after his even par 72. Graduate John Cook is tied for 24th at 1-over 73 and senior Esteban Jaramillo is tied for 29th at 2-over 74. Heider had four birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey. Cook had third birdies and four bogeys. Jaramillo had two birdies, one bogey and a double bogey.
Teams will play their second round on Saturday and conclude the tournament with 18 holes on Sunday. Utah State will be paired with golfers from Ohio State on Saturday with tee times beginning at 10:40 a.m. (MT).
For more information on the Utah State golf program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUMensGolf, Facebook at USUMensGolf and Instagram at USUGolf.
GOLFWEEK National Golf Invitational Championship
Date: May 16-18
Location: Maricopa, Arizona
Host Course: Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,375
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
TEAM RESULTS
1. Utah State – 277 (-11)
2. Ohio State – 278 (-10)
3. Stetson – 281 (-7)
4. George Mason – 286 (-2)
5. West Virginia – 287(-1)
T6. Richmond – 289 (+1)
T6. Utah Valley – 289 (+1)
T8. Rhode Island – 290 (+2)
T8. Oregon State – 290 (+2)
10. Texas State – 292 (+4)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Enrique Karg, Utah State – 65 (-7)
2. Clement Lepine, Utah Valley – 66 (-6)
T3. Julio Arronte, Utah State – 67 (-5)
T3. Carson Baez, Richmond – 67 (-5)
T5. Tyler Sabo, Ohio State – 68 (-4)
T5. Rasmus Ronnberg, Stetson – 68 (-4)
T5. Bradley Smolinski, Oregon State – 68 (-4)
UTAH STATE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Enrique Karg – 65 (-7)
T3. Julio Arronte – 67 (-5)
T21. Toby Heider – 72 (E)
T24. John Cook – 73 (+1)
T29. Esteban Jaramillo – 74 (+2)
