May 16, 2008
BREMERTON, Wash. -
Despite the efforts of Aaron Goldberg (Encinitas, Calif.) and Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden), the San Diego State men's golf team tumbled into 20th place on Friday after shooting a collective 15-over-par 303 during the second round of the NCAA West Regional Championships in Bremerton, Wash. Goldberg and Carlsson each fired a 1-over 73, but it wasn't enough to prevent the 11th-seeded Aztecs from falling seven places in the team standings after ending the day with a combined 29-over 605.
Goldberg was just four strokes off the pace entering the second round, but unable to make a significant jump up the individual leaderboard despite sinking three birdies on the back nine. Five bogeys on the afternoon sandbagged the SDSU senior, who still managed to move up one spot into a tie for 18th with a 2-over 146.
Carlsson, meanwhile, made tremendous progress on Friday as the Aztec freshman vaulted 31 places into a tie for 51st with a combined 6-over 150. Carlsson shaved four shots off his opening-round total, offsetting four bogeys with a pair of birdies to tie Goldberg for SDSU's lowest score of the day.
Senior Chad Moscovic also showed improvement during the second round, climbing seven spots into a tie for the 122nd position with a two-day total of 14-over 158. The Stockton, Calif., product regrouped after carding bogeys on his first three holes, draining three birdies after the turn until a double-bogey on the par-3 16th hole derailed his momentum en route to a 5-over 77.
Things took a turn for the worse for junior David Palm, however, as the Landvetter, Sweden, product dropped into a tie for 104th with a combined 12-over 156. Palm was unable to recover from a pair of double-bogeys on the front nine, finishing with an 8-over 80.
Freshman Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.) also struggled on Friday, carding an 81 to end the day in a tie for 113th at 13-over 157.
USC (-2) opened up a five-shot lead over second-place Oregon (+3) in the 27-team field, while the Ducks' Joey Benedetti (-6) maintained his perch atop the individual standings with his second straight 69 as Dan Woltman (-5) of Wisconsin closed to within one stroke.
The NCAA West Regional Championships conclude on Saturday with final-round play as the Aztecs are scheduled to tee off on the 10th hole with players from Kansas State and Florida State starting at 12:12 p.m. PT. SDSU needs a finish of 10th place or higher to advance to the national championship series, which will be held May 28-31 in West Lafayette, Ind. A live scoring link will be available on the home page of GoAztecs.com.
NCAA West Regional Championships At Bremerton, Wash. Gold Mountain Golf Club - Olympic Course (7,111 yards, par 72)
Second Round Team Standings (Top 10 + SDSU)1. USC 291-283 - 574 (-2)2. Oregon 289-290 - 579 (+3)3. Clemson 295-285 - 580 (+4)T4. UCLA 291-294 - 585 (+9)T4. Washington 291-294 - 585 (+9)6. Arizona State 304-285 - 589 (+13)T7. Pepperdine 291-302 - 593 (+17)T7. Stanford 296-297 - 593 (+17)T7. Kentucky 302-291 - 593 (+17)10. Wisconsin 304-290 - 594 (+18)20. San Diego State 302-303 - 605 (+29)
Second Round Individual Leaders (Top 5 + SDSU)1. Joey Benedetti, Oregon 69-69 - 138 (-6)2. Dan Woltman, Wisconsin 71-68 - 139 (-5)3. Nick Taylor, Washington 71-69 - 140 (-4)4. Michael McRae, Saint Mary's 72-69 - 141 (-3)5. Rory Hie, USC 72-70 - 142 (-2)T18. Aaron Goldberg, SDSU 73-73 - 146 (+2)T51. Johan Carlsson, SDSU 77-73 - 150 (+6)T104. David Palm, SDSU 76-80 - 156 (+12)T113. Matt Hoffenberg, SDSU 76-81 - 157 (+13)T122. Chad Moscovic, SDSU 81-77 - 158 (+14)