Former SDSU golfers have won three of the last six majors
By Jamie McConeghy
Former San Diego State men’s golfer J.J. Spaun captured the 2025 U.S. Open, battling a weather delay on arguably the toughest course in the world at Oakmont Country Club just outside of Pittsburgh. Along with a pair of major wins last season by Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship and The Open, a former Aztec has won three of the last six majors.
Spaun carded a final round 2-over-par-72 to finish as the lone player under par at 1-under 279, beating runner-up Robert MacIntyre by two strokes. Spaun was at 5-over through his first eight holes of the final round with five bogeys before a 96-minute weather delay. When he resumed on the ninth hole, he recorded three pars, and then went three-under over his final seven holes with four birdies and a bogey.
San Diego State alumni now have two of the top-8 ranked players in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) with Schauffele ranked third and Spaun in eighth.
Spaun (2009-12) and Schauffele (2013-15) aren’t the only former Aztecs who are taking the golf world by storm. Justin Hastings, who recently graduated from SDSU, had arguably the best season in program history in 2025. He racked up two victories and posted the second-best scoring average (70.33) ever at San Diego State. Out of his 11 collegiate tournaments, he had two wins (by four strokes each), a runner-up finish and six top-10 efforts. Hastings became the fourth Aztec to win a Mountain West Championship, carding an 18-under-par 198. He also won the Lamkin Classic in a tournament-record 16-under 200. Hastings was named an honorable mention All-American by two publications, as well as a PING All-West region selection for a third straight season, the MW Golfer of the Year and an all-MW pick for a third consecutive year.
Hastings big season really got going when he won the Latin America Amateur Championship in March, which got him an invitation to the Masters, and into the U.S. Open, where he was the low amateur at both events. Hastings will play in next month’s the Open before turning to the professional ranks. Two weeks ago, Hastings led the Internationals to a 35-25 win at the Arnold Palmer Cup after going 4-0 in his events at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina. Hastings is now the 13th-ranked player in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).
All three Aztecs were recruited by and played under SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan, who recently was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year for a fifth time. San Diego State won its fourth consecutive MW Championship in April.
