Oct. 10, 2011
The 14th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team utilized a 14-under 274 in the second round to move up three spots into third place Monday at The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. The Aztecs' 274 was 10 strokes better than their first-round effort and ranked second lowest in the 16-team field to give them a 36-hole total of 18-under 558. With 18 holes remaining, SDSU is just one stroke behind second place Washington (557) and six in back of leader Oregon (552).
Four of the five San Diego State players were under par in the second round with three making gains on the individual leaderboard. Aztec sophomore Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zealand) put himself into contention for a run at his first career individual title, carding his second consecutive 68 to move to 8-under par and into a tie for third place, just two strokes behind Spencer Fletcher of Arizona State and Eugene Wong of Oregon, who are knotted at 10-under 134. Baek was at 5-under with five birdies through 15 holes, before tallying his lone bogey of the afternoon on the par-5 2nd hole, and finishing with two straight pars.
Aztec senior Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.) and freshman Wilson Bateman (Edmonton, Alberta) both made huge moves up the standings in the second round. Kang climbed from 18th into a tie for sixth place with the team's low round of the day at 5-under 67, highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 11th hole and four birdies, to give him a 6-under 138. Bateman, meanwhile, also carded his own eagle on the par-5 second hole and notched five total birdies, including three straight on holes 10-12, for a 4-under 68. Bateman's 68 was five strokes better than his opening day effort of 73 and allowed him to jump 21 slots into a tie for 17th place with a 3-under 141.
Senior Matt Hoffenberg (Simi Valley, Calif.), who is competing in the SDSU starting five for the first time since March 2010, stayed in a tie for 28th place for the second day in a row following his second-round 71 to put him at 1-under for the tournament with a 143. Classmate J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.) started the day well with three birdies and five pars through his first eight holes, but then double bogeyed both the 18th and fifth holes and notched three other bogeys to finish with a 75 and drop him into 59th.
The Aztecs will look for their first title of the season Tuesday with the third and final round beginning as early as 7:30 a.m. PT, from holes 1 or 10 at the par-72, 7,156-yard Greg Norman Course at PGA West.
Results Through 36 Holes
Team Scoring (Top 5 of 16 teams)
1 Oregon 279-273-552 (-24)2 Washington 280-277-557 (-19)3 San Diego State 284-274-558 (-18)4 Stanford 280-282-562 (-14)5 Arizona State 282-282-564 (-12)
Top Four Individuals (Top 4 of 84 players)1 Spencer Fletcher, ASU 66-68-134 (-10) Eugene Wong, Oregon 70-64-134 (-10)3 Todd Baek, SDSU 68-68-136 (-8) Cheng-Tsung Pan, Wash. 69-67-136 (-8)5 Adam Hoffmann, Vanderbilt 67-70-137 (-7)
Other San Diego State PlayersT6 Alex Kang 71-67-138 (-6)T17 Wilson Bateman 73-68-141 (-3)T28 Matt Hoffenberg 72-71-143 (-1)T54 J.J. Spaun 74-75-149 (+5)