May 1, 2009
TUCSON, Ariz. - No. 22 San Diego State slipped one place on the team leaderboard and finds itself in a tie for third place after the second day of the Mountain West Conference men's golf championships at the par-71, 7,136-yard OMNI Tucson National Golf Club. SDSU shot a combined 4-under 280 on the second day of the conference tournament as four Aztecs find themselves among the top 20 on the individual leaderboard. No. 17 TCU continues to lead the team standings after 36 holes, carding an 12-under 556 to hold on to a four-shot lead over No. 34 UNLV (-8). The No. 22 Aztecs are tied for third with No. 32 Colorado State and No. 37 New Mexico at 5-under 563.
Senior Bryan Martin (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) continues to lead the Aztecs and is tied for fourth place heading into Saturday's final round. Martin fired a 2-under 69 over the course of the second 18 holes, giving him a two-round total of 5-under 137, which is his lowest 36-hole total as an Aztec. Martin is four shots back of New Mexico's Steve Saunders, who shot a tournament-low 64 in the second round to sit at the top of individual leaderboard.
SDSU's Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) made the biggest improvement on day two, firing a 4-under 67 on the second day of the tournament. Kang put together a string of five birdies on holes eight through 13, before recording par on the 13th hole. The Aztec freshman recorded another birdie on the par-4 14th hole. His two-day total of 140 is a new spring best, while his day two 67 matches his spring low for 18 holes. He is currently in eighth place, just three shots out of the top 5.
Classmate J.J. Spaun sits two strokes back of Spaun and within the top 20 with a second-round 1-over 72. The San Dimas, Calif. product dropped from tied for seventh to tied for 17th at 1-over, but is just two stokes outside the top 10.
Sophomore Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) is also two strokes out of the top 10 on the individual leaderboard as he completed second-round action in a tie for 17th place with Spaun. Carlsson shaved one stroke off his first day 72 to complete second day action with an even-par 71. He posted four birdies on the second day of tournament play, but ran into trouble on the back nine to finish with a two-day 1-over total.
Sophomore Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.) bounced back from a 77 on Friday to fire a 3-over 74 on the second day. Hoffenberg recorded two birdies on the back nine, but ran into trouble on the par-4 18th hole for the second consecutive day. He sits in a tie for 42nd place.
San Diego State will tee-off with Brigham Young and Colorado State at 7:50 a.m. PT Saturday for the third and final round of the 2009 MWC championships. A link for live scoring will be available on GoAztecs.com.
Second-round scores with relation to par May 1, at the 2009 MWC Championships, played at the par-71, 7,136-yard OMNI Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz.
Team Scoring
1. TCU 276-280--556 (-12)
2. UNLV 289-271--560 (-8)
T3. San Diego State 283-280--563 (-5)
T3. New Mexico 284-279--563 (-5)
T3. Colorado State 291-272--563 (-5)
6. Brigham Young 291-277--568 (E)
7. Wyoming 295-284--579 (+11)
8. Utah 291-292--583 (+15)
9. Air Force 293-298--591 (+23)
Top Eight Individuals
1. Steve Saunders (New Mexico) 69-64--133 (-9)
T2. Johan de Beer (TCU) 69-66--135 (-7)
T2. Ji Moon (UNLV) 68-67--135 (-7)
T4. Tom Hoge (TCU) 67-70--137 (-5)
T4. Bryan Martin (SDSU) 68-69--137 (-5)
6. Eddie Olson (UNLV) 73-65--138 (-4)
7. Zen Brown (Colorado State) 73-66--139 (-3)
8. Alex Kang (SDSU) 73-67--140 (-2)
San Diego State
T4. Bryan Martin 68-69--137 (-5)
8. Alex Kang 73-67--140 (-2)
T17. J.J. Spaun 70-72--142 (E)
T17. Johan Carlsson 72-71--143 (+1)
T42. Matt Hoffenberg 77-74--151 (+9)