No. 4 USC Returns To Action At Amer Ari Invitational In Hawaii

The No. 4 USC men's golf team, which won its final two Fall events among three top 2 finishes while featuring the world's No. 1 amateur in senior Justin Suh, resumes the 2018-19 season with the start of the spring slate at the Amer Ari Invitational, Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 7-9), at the Waikoloa (Hawaii) Kings Course.

The Trojans, the defending 2018 Pac-12 champions, are a two-time winner of the Amer Ari Invitational and Suh returns as the defending champion. The 18-team field includes Auburn, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Hawai'i, Hawai'i-Hilo, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Osaka Gakuin (Japan), Pacific, San Jose State, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, UC Davis, USC and Utah.

Play on the par 72, 7,074-yard course will begin with shotgun starts daily at 9:30 a.m. PT. Results will be available here.

USC will start Suh, sophomores Kaito Onishi and Issei Tanabe, junior Kyle Suppa and freshman Charlie Reiter while senior Sam Kim will play individually.

FALL RECAP
The Trojans won their final two events of Fall play, claiming the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational and the Saint Mary's Invitational.

At Saint Mary's, USC erased a 17-stroke deficit to start the final round and a double-digit disadvantage at the turn to win by 13 strokes. The Trojans closed with a final round 265, its best effort in over 13 years, winning the tournament at 21-under 831 (290-276-265), leapfrogging three teams over the final 18 holes, including second-round leader BYU. Issei Tanabe led USC with a second-place finish at 8-under 205 (72-68-65) while Kyle Suppa tied for fourth and Kaito Onishi tied for ninth.

USC also came from behind to capture its first tournament of the year in Georgia, winning by a stroke at 22-under 842 (278-280-284). Justin Suh won his and the Trojans' first individual crown of the season, taking first at 14-under 202 (67-67-68) for his seventh career title, winning by four strokes.

The Trojans finished second in their season opener at the Fighting Illini Invitational at 7-over 847 (287-281-279), Onishi leading USC in third at 3-under 207 (68-69-70)

TROJAN NOTES
* USC features four players ranked in Golfweek's top 70 after Fall play. Suh is fifth, Onishi is 14^th, Tanabe is 60^th and Reiter is 69^th.

* Suh posted four top 15 finishes in the fall. In addition to his win, he tied for fourth at the Fighting Illini Invitational at 2-under 208 (73-67-68), tied for 10^th at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational at 1-under 209 (70-69-70) and tied for 15^th at the Saint Mary's Invitational at 1-under 212 (75-70-67).

Suh leads the Trojans with a 69.25 stroke average over 12 rounds, including seven rounds of 69 or better. He has posted par or better in 10 of 12 rounds. Suh took over the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in mid-October, moving past Braden Thornberry while Cal's Collin Morikawa remained third.

Suh was ranked fifth in the fall Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings for the U.S. squad.

He is coming off one of the top seasons in USC history. The senior from San Jose, Calif., won a USC-record five tournaments, capped by the Pac-12 Championships individual title. He also broke USC's season records for stroke average (68.73), lowering Jamie Lovemark's 2007 mark (70.10). Suh's 21 rounds under 70 in 2018 also broke Lovemark's school standard of 20 from the same season.

In addition to his 21 rounds in the 60s, he had 23 rounds under par and 28 of par or better in 33 rounds. In addition to his 21 rounds in the 60s, he had 23 rounds under par and 28 of par or better in 33 rounds.

Suh was one of five finalists for the Jack Nicklaus Award, among 10 semifinalists for the 2018 Ben Hogan Award and was among the top 3 all season on the 2018 Haskins Award Watch List. He also played on the 2018 Palmer Cup Team and represented the U.S. at the 2018 World Amateur Team Championships, helping the American squad to second place and tied for third overall.

* Sophomore Kaito Onishi is second on the team in stroke average at 70.00 in nine rounds with three rounds in the 60s. He has posted a trio of top 15 finishes this year, including his third at the Fighting Illini Invitational at 3-under 207 (68-69-70). He was also 3-under with a tie for ninth at the Saint Mary's Invitational (210=73-71-66) and 3-under with a tie for 15^th at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational (213=70-74-69).

Onishi was ranked fifth in the fall Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings for the international squad.

Onishi was second on the squad last year in stroke average (71.85) and rounds in the 60s (eight). Included in the early-season Arnold Palmer Cup rankings for the international team (15^th), he had a pair of top 4 finishes, four top 20s and seven results in the top 28.

* Junior Kyle Suppa has a pair of top 10 finishes this season. He tied for fourth at 5-under 208 (73-68-67) at the Saint Mary's Invitational – a career-best effort – and tied for seventh at 5-under 211 (70-67-74) at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational.

* Sophomore Issei Tanabe is third on the Trojans with a stroke average of 70.56 in nine rounds, including five rounds in the 60s, second-best on the team. He posted a USC career-best second in USC's come-from behind win at the Saint Mary's Invitational, taking second at 8-under 205 (72-68-65). He also tied for fourth at the Bill Cullum Invitational at 6-under 209 (69-74-66).

* Freshman Charlie Reiter started all four of USC's Fall events, finishing with three rounds in the 60s and a stroke average of 71.58, fourth on the team. He posted a season-best tie for 23^rd at the Nike Golf Collegiate at 4-over 214 (69-72-73).

* Senior Sam Kim and junior Ryan Slater have each seen action in one event this season. Also available are sophomore reserve Owen Calvin-Smith and freshman Cameron Henry, a 2017 U.S. Amateur qualifier.

* The Trojans lost two members of the squad after the fall semester. Junior starter Cheng Jin left the program to join the PGA Tour China, which he qualified for in the spring. Junior walk-on Ing Ratanavadi has also left the squad.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Owen Calvin-Smith

Cameron Henry

Cheng Jin

Sam Kim

Kaito Onishi

Ing Ratanavadi

Charlie Reiter

Ryan Slater

Justin Suh

Kyle Suppa

Issei Tanabe