May 14, 2009
DALY CITY, Calif. - The San Diego State men's golf team shot a combined 2-under-par 286 on Thursday as four Aztecs find themselves among the top 15 on the individual leaderboard following the opening round of the 2009 NCAA West Regional Championship on the 6,849-yard, par-72 Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif. With their total, the SDSU finds itself in sixth place in the 13-team field, just one stroke back of fifth place Southern California (-3) in the 54-hole tournament as the top five teams from each of six regionals advance to the national championship tournament. Arizona State took the early lead after posting a collective 9-under 279 to take a one-shot lead over New Mexico (-8), followed by Texas A&M (-7), Oregon (-6), Southern California (-3) and SDSU (-2).
Sophomore Johan Carlsson led the SDSU charge on the first day of regional action. The Gothenburg, Sweden native fired a 2-under 70 to finish in a tie for 11th place. Carlsson is only five strokes back of first-round leader Matthew Giles of Southern California, who fired a 7-under 65 in the opening round of regional play.
Three Aztecs find posted an even-par score after completing the first 18 holes of the tournament. Senior Bryan Martin and freshmen Andrew Cooley and Alex Kang finished the day in a tie for 15th place on the individual leaderboard after each posted an identical even-par 72. Martin (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) battled back from a double-bogey on the par-4 17th hole with five birdies over 18 holes. Cooley (New Haw, Surrey, England) posted a 3-under 33 for his first nine holes, but found trouble over the course of his second nine to complete the round. Kang (Oak Park, Calif.), meanwhile, carded an even-par 36 before the turn, and was unable to make a move on the individual leaderboard. Despite their woes, all three golfers find themselves just three shots out of the top six with 36 holes to play.
Rounding out the Scarlet and Black lineup was freshman J.J. Spaun. The San Dimas, Calif. product was 1-under after the first nine, but had a bad stretch over the final holes to card a 4-over 76.
San Diego State will tee-off with Oregon and Southern California at 8:50 a.m. PT Friday for the second round of the NCAA West Regional. A link for live scoring will be available on GoAztecs.com.
First-round scores with relation to par May 14, at the 2009 NCAA West Regional Championship, played at the par-72, 6,849-yard Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif.
Team Scoring
1. (14) Arizona State 279 (-9)
2. (37) New Mexico 280 (-8)
3. (12) Texas A&M 281 (-7)
4. (35) Oregon 282 (-6)
5. (2) Southern California 285 (-3)
6. (22) San Diego State 286 (-2)
7. San Diego 288 (E)
8. (50) UC Irvine 289 (+1)
T9. (43) Colorado 291 (+3)
T9. San Francisco 291 (+3)
11. Kansas State 294 (+6)
12. (26) UC Davis 298 (+10)
13. Oregon State 300 (+12)
Top 12 Individuals
1. (3) Matthew Giles (USC) 65 (-7)
2. Jesper Kennegard (ASU) 66 (-6)
T3. Steve Saunders (New Mexico) 67 (-5)
T3. John Hurley (Texas A&M) 67 (-5)
T3. Brady Johnson (Brigham Young) 67 (-5)
T6. (43) Knut Borsheim (ASU) 69 (-3)
T6. (46) Bronson Burgoon (Texas A&M) 69 (-3)
T6. James Erkenbeck (New Mexico) 69 (-3)
T6. (36) Daniel Miernicki (Oregon) 69 (-3)
T6. Robbie Ziegler (Oregon) 69 (-3)
T11. Johan Carlsson (SDSU) 70 (-2)
T11. Luke Symons (Colorado) 70 (-2)
San Diego State
T11. (84) Johan Carlsson 70 (-2)
T15. Andrew Cooley 72 (E)
T15. Alex Kang 72 (E)
T15. Bryan Martin 72 (E)
T60. J.J. Spaun 76 (+4)