Men's Golf Knotted In 12th After Second Round Of NCAAs

STILLWATER, Okla. - An early start didn't end up playing dividends for the San Diego State men's golf squad, as the team posted a second round 13-over 301 to drop just slightly from a tie for 10th place into a four-way tie for 12th with a 36-hole score of 20-over 596 Wednesday at the 2011 NCAA championships. The Aztecs will have one round to make up the six-stroke gap between them and the current eighth-place squads Texas A&M and Ohio State to advance to stroke play at the par-72, 7,416-yard Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

"We just made too many mistakes out there and these guys are too good to finish like they did today," said SDSU head coach Ryan Donovan. "It's just frustrating knowing that we could be right there rather than waiting around to see where we stand.

"There's no doubt that we can still make a run at finishing in the top eight. We've won seven times this year and it's not because we've been leading after the first or second round. They've dug deep before and I know they have it in them. They just have to believe in themselves and get it done tomorrow."

The Aztecs are currently tied for 12th place with three other squads in Duke, Iowa and Arizona State. Arkansas is two strokes better than the group at 18-over par, while USC is four ahead at 16-over. Texas A&M and Ohio State, which both slid in the standings after the second round, are currently tied for the eighth and final qualifying position at 14-over.

SDSU freshman Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zealand) posted the team's low round of the day with his second consecutive 72, including five birdies with three of those within his first six holes. Baek was at 2-under when he made the turn, but then was one of three Aztecs to double bogey the par-4 10th hole. He offset two bogeys with two more birdies to move up from 19th into 14th place and is currently tied for second in the field in par-5 scoring at a combined 5-under.

Junior J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.) is also in 14th place at even-par for the tournament, after he was unable to match his phenomenal first-round 69. Spaun birdied back-to-back par-4 holes and then didn't log another one until the 18th and finished the day with a 3-over 75.

Senior Johan Carlsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) had the squad's most consistent opening 18 holes, but did just the opposite on Wednesday with his three pars, five birdies and 10 bogeys, including on each of his final three holes to finish the round with a 5-over 77. Despite just a one stroke difference from his day-one 76, Carlsson dropped from 75th into 87th place with a 153.

Junior Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) started the morning well with a birdie, two bogeys and six pars on the first nine holes, after going 6-over during the same span in the first round. Kang was at 2-over leading into the 17th and 18th, but notched a double bogey and then a bogey for a 77. His effort was one stroke better than his opening round 78, and moved him up to 105th on the individual leaderboard with a 155.

Kang's classmate Colin Featherstone (Fallbrook, Calif.) countered two double bogeys with two birdies in the final nine holes to cut eight strokes off his first-round total and log a 78. Featherstone jumped five slots from 151st to 146th with a 20-over 164.

Fourth-seeded Georgia Tech and No. 2 seed UCLA remain as the only two schools under par and are separated by a single stroke. Illinois is third at 2-over, followed by Georgia (+3) and Alabama (+4). On the individual leaderboard, LSU's Johnson Peterson jumped from 47th all the way into the lead with his second-round 65 highlighted by six birdies and an eagle in his final 15 holes. Peterson is one stroke up on day-one leader James White of Georgia Tech with a 5-under 139.

San Diego State will be paired with Arizona State and Iowa for the final 18 holes of stroke play. The Aztecs will tee off from the No. 10 hole, starting at 1:40 p.m. CT/11:40 a.m. PT. Live results for the national championships are available on goaztecs.com.