TUCSON, Ariz. - The eighth-ranked and second-seeded San Diego State men's golf team shot a 6-under 278 on Friday at the NCAA Arizona Regional in Tucson, Ariz. With their effort, the Aztecs (-12, 556) own a five-stroke lead over tournament host Arizona (-7, 561) and a seven-shot advantage over seventh-ranked and top-seeded Texas A&M (-5, 563). "Overall I thought we played really solid," SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan said."We started out rough. We were five over par on the first four holes and we slipped to eighth place. The guys dug deep and never quit. I'm proud of how the guys stayed composed and finished strong."
Alex Kang, who was 3-under after Thursday's first round, shot a 1-under 70 today and ended his day at 4-under, which put him three back of the leader and in a tie for fourth place. The junior experienced some shaky moments on the front nine, posting four bogeys and one birdie. The back nine, however, was much smoother as he birdied five of the next seven holes before going par, bogey on the last two holes to finish with a 70.
Johan Carlsson and Colin Featherstone find themselves in a five-way tie for 11th place as both are 2-under (140) after 36 holes. Carlsson posted his best score of the tournament with a 2-under 69 after finishing at even on Thursday. The senior was 1-over at the turn, but responded with five birdies against two bogeys to complete his day with a 69.
Featherstone, meanwhile, was unable to duplicate his 3-under performance from Thursday as he was 1-over for the day. The redshirt junior, however, eagled No. 5 and was even through 16, but a bogey on No. 17 and a par on 18 sealed his 1-over 72. "I played okay and putted really well," Carlsson said. "On the back nine, I got pretty hot with my putter. Here you have to putt well and I made every putt I looked at today."
Twenty four hours after playing even-par golf, freshman Todd Baek shaved off one stroke on Friday and finished with a 1-under 70 to sit in a tie for 16th place. Baek double bogeyed No. 4, but answered with a birdie on the very next hole. A birdie on the par-4 ninth hole put him at even halfway through the round. The freshman birdied Nos. 10, 13 and 15, but bogeys at Nos. 12 and 18 capped his day at 1-under.
J.J. Spaun tied Carlsson for San Diego State's low round of the day at 2-under, which allowed him to jump 25 spots from Thursday and into a tie for 24th place. The junior had a rough start, bogeying three of the first seven holes, but a birdie on No. 8 seemed to settle him down. Over the final 10 holes, Spaun was 4-under and birdied Nos. 14-16 to help SDSU increase its lead over the 14-team field.
Final round action is scheduled for Saturday in Tucson, Ariz. The top five teams will earn automatic bids to the national championship to be held in Stillwater, Okla., which will begin May 31.
|
