March 14, 2011
CHULA VISTA, Calif. - The sixth-ranked San Diego State men's golf team will have some work to do in the final 18 holes, as the Aztecs finished day one of the 2011 San Diego Intercollegiate Classic, presented by TaylorMade Golf and Lamkin Grips, in third place with an 11-over 731. SDSU, which posted a field-low 2-over 362 in Monday's second round, trails second-place Texas-Arlington by four strokes and leader SMU by seven strokes at the par-72, 7,050-yard San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif.
The Aztecs have three golfers in the top 11, led by junior Colin Featherstone (Fallbrook, Calif.), who is tied for fourth place at even-par 144. Featherstone shaved two strokes off his opening 73, by notching five birdies, including on four consecutive holes, for a second-round 1-under 71.
SDSU freshman Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zealand) had six birdies and tied the team's best round of the day with a 2-under 70, but then ran into some trouble in the afternoon with five bogeys for a 75 to drop from second into a tie for eighth place with a 145. Junior Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) did the opposite in the second round, jumping from 35th all the way into a tie for 11th with his 70, highlighted by five consecutive birdies over his final six holes to trail Baek by only one stroke at 2-over 146.
Junior J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.) made a five-stroke improvement in the afternoon with a 71 to tie for 17th place, while senior Johan Carlsson (Gotheburg, Sweden) stayed in 24th at the conclusion of both rounds with a 5-over 149.
Sophomore Tom Berry (New Haw, England) rounded out the Aztec starting six with a 9-over 153, while redshirt sophomore Evan Emerick (Oceanside, Calif.), competing as an individual in his first tournament of 2011, is tied for 52nd place with a 158.
USD's Alex Ching, ranked 27th nationally, and SMU's Kelly Kraft are the top individuals in the 75-golfer field after both carding a 5-under 139 through the 36 holes.
SDSU will look to rally for its third consecutive team title and its fourth in five 2011 outings on Tuesday in the final 18 holes. The Aztecs will tee off between 8:42 and 9:29 a.m. PDT from the first tee. Live results are available on golfstat.com as well as goaztecs.com.
Scores with relation to par, March 14, 2011, at the 2011 San Diego Intercollegiate Classic played at the par-72, 7,050-yard San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif.
Team 36 holes (Top 5 of 12 teams)
1 SMU 360-364-724 (+4)
2 Texas-Arlington 360-367-727 (+7)
3 No. 6 San Diego St. 369-362-731 (+11)
4 No. 19 USD 371-364-735 (+15)
5 Fresno State 365-381-746 (+26)
Top Five Individuals (Top 7 of 75 players)
1 Alex Ching, USD 71-68-139 (-5)
Kelly Kraft, SMU 70-69-139 (-5)
3 Aaron Stewart, SMU 68-75-143 (-1)
4 Four tied 144 (E)
Other San Diego State Golfers
T4 Colin Featherstone 73-71-144 (E)
T8 Todd Baek 76-70-145 (+1)
T11 Alex Kang 76-70-146 (+2)
T17 J.J. Spaun 76-71-147 (+3)
T24 Johan Carlsson 74-75-149 (+5)
T39 Tom Berry 77-76-153 (+9)
T52 Evan Emerick* 78-80-158 (+14)
* = playing as an individual