June 2, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's golf team dropped five spots in the team standings Thursday from 18th to 23rd place after carding a second round 17-over par 297 at the 2005 NCAA championships. The Aztecs are currently at 27-over par 587 for the tournament, which is being held at the par-70, 7,131-yard Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. Georgia continues to maintain a large lead in the 30-school field, boasting a nine stroke advantage (2-under 558) over its nearest competitor Tennessee.
"We got off to a rough start today and this just isn't a golf course that you can come back and make up a lot of strokes on," SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan said. "We're up against the wall tomorrow and have to come up with a good score."
Three of the Aztecs' five golfers are currently tied for 57th place overall at 6-over 146. Senior Gilberto Rodriguez (Tijuana, Mexico) had the team's best round of the day, shaving two strokes off his previous score to finish with a 72. Rodriguez birdied the par-3 eighth and then had pars on nine of his next 10 holes to end the day at 2-over.
Juniors Andrew Scott (Henderson, Nev.) and Josh Warthen (Pismo Beach, Calif.) are tied with Rodriguez for 57th place. Scott was at 3-over on the front nine, but then remained steady until bogeying the last hole to card a 74. Warthen was one stroke behind Scott with a 75, after posting a team-best 71 in the first round of the championships.
Senior Linus Nilsson (Limhamn, Sweden) is tied for 106th place at 10-over 150, while classmate Aaron Choi (San Diego, Calif.) is 118th at 151.
Pepperdine's Michael Putnam is atop the individual scoreboard at 6-under 134, holding a one-stroke lead over Augusta State's Major Manning.
San Diego State, which is making its first NCAA appearance since 2003, starts the third round at 12:45 p.m. (EDT) on Friday. The Aztecs will tee-off at the 10th hole and will be paired with Missouri and Stanford. Only the top 15 teams at the end of the day will advance on to the championships' fourth and final round slated for Saturday.
Second round scores with relation to par June 2, at the 2005 NCAA championships, played at the par-70, 7,131-yard Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
Top Five Team Scores
1. Georgia 274-284-558 (-2)
2. Tennessee 279-288-567 (+7)
3. Georgia Tech 288-281-569 (+9)
4. USC 290-282-572 (+12)
5. Four teams tied 574 (+14)
23. San Diego State 290-297-587 (+27)
Top Five Individual Scores
1. Michael Putnam, Pepperdine 67-67-134 (-6)
2. Major Manning, Aug. St. 65-70-135 (-5)
3. Roberto Castro, Ga. Tech 69-68-137 (-3)
James Lepp, Washington 70-67-137 (-3)
5. Five tied 138 (-2)
San Diego State
t57. Josh Warthen 71-75-146 (+6)
t57. Andrew Scott 72-74-146 (+6)
t57. Gilberto Rodriguez 74-72-146 (+6)
t106. Linus Nilsson 73-77-150 (+10)
t118. Aaron Choi 75-76-151 (+11)