Men’s Golf | January 26, 2025

LOS ANGELES – USC men’s golf begins its spring season close to home as it competes in the 14-team Southwestern Invitational from Monday, Jan. 27 through Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Sherwood Lake Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. 
 
The Trojans will seek continued success as they build on their four fall tournaments. USC placed within the top five twice and posted a win to open the fall season at the Southern Dunes Invitational. USC will face a competitive field in this 14-team tournament, as it will compete against seven of the top 25 teams in the country.
 
Competitive Slate (14): No. 8 Texas No. 10 UCLA, No. 11 Arizona, No. 14 Florida, No. 15 Vanderbilt, *No. 19 Pepperdine, No. 24 Duke, No. 32 San Diego State, No. 43 USC, No. 44 UNLV, California, San Jose State, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Washington
 
*Host School
 
Where: Sherwood Lake Club (Par 71, 7,081)
 
When: The three-day event will begin Monday, Jan. 27, with all rounds starting at 9:00 a.m. PT. The second round being on Tuesday, Jan. 28, and the event will conclude with the final round on Wednesday, Jan. 29. 
 
Live-Scoring: Live results can be found on Scoreboard Live (Clippd)
 
Lineup:
 

1. Gavin Aurilia
2. Jack Jerge
3. Jack Buchanan
4. Antonio Safa
5. Jaden Dumdumaya

 
Gavin Aurilia
 
In his final lap around the horn, senior Gavin Aurilia hopes to expand on the success he had in the fall. He led the Trojans in most statistical categories as he posted a stroke average of 71.08, had three top-25 finishes and recorded a team-high 44 birdies. Aurilia ended the fall season with a team-best finish at Georgia Tech at three-under par. 
 
Jack Jerge
 
Sophomore Jack Jerge continues to emerge as a consistent player in the USC lineup, as he was third in the lineup in three of the four fall tournaments. Jerge heads into the spring season with momentum, winning the Grapevine Amateur during the holiday break. Jerge finished 10-under par as he fired a 69-70-67 in the three-round competition. 
 
Jack Buchanan
 
Freshman Jack Buchanan has quickly emerged as a significant threat in the lineup since making his first career start at the SMU Trinity Forest Invitational (Oct. 6-8). During that tournament, he posted the lowest total by a freshman since Jamie Lovemark in 2007, as he was 12-under par and finished tied for second. Buchanan will make his third career start when the Trojans start spring play, as he comes into the event with a stroke average of 71.83 and a team low individual round of the season with a 64 (-8) posted at SMU. 
 
Antonio Safa
 
Junior Antonio Safa, like Jerge, enters the fall after a successful outing in a holiday break tournament. Safa tied for 10th with a score of 11-under par at the Latin America Amateur Championship. The junior comes into the spring season tied for third on the squad in stroke average (71.83), ranks third in rounds in the 60s (two) and has one top-ten individual finish. 
 
Jaden Dumdumaya
 
Freshman Jaden Dumdumaya will make his first career start for the Trojans after appearing as an individual in the first tournament of the season. Dumdumaya also had a solid break, as he appeared alongside Jerge at the Grapevine Amateur and tied for 10th in the field. 
 
Quotables:
 
“It’s quite a long break; you have all these players, from every team in the country, competing individually everywhere. It’s basically the first team tournament of the year again, and we have to do our best to play one shot at a time, stay in the moment and use our team depth to compete,” head coach Mark Hankins said. “We have five guys that have worked hard this early spring, and Sherwood is nice venue to host an early event.  We have some familiarity, and we are looking forward to a great competition.”
 
“I’m going to go out there and keep doing what I am doing, stick to my own gameplan,” Aurilia said. “I am just going to let everything take care of itself and hopefully it continues our momentum on this team and for the rest of the tournaments this spring.”
 
“I am looking forward to it, being my first tournament as a Trojan, my game is in a good spot and I am looking forward to seeing how I can contribute to the team,” Dumdumaya said. “Coming into the spring I am pretty confident in my abilities, I put in a lot of preparation during the offseason, and I’m headed in the right direction.”