Feb. 19, 2013
LA QUINTA, Calif. - The San Diego State men's golf squad finds itself in 14th place after finishing its first two rounds of The Prestige at PGA WEST on Tuesday in La Quinta, Calif. The Aztecs posted a collective 29-over 597 over the first 36 holes on the par-71, 7,046-yard Greg Norman Resort Course. However, darkness suspended play for the second day in row, leaving over half of the 15-team field with incomplete scores.
With steady breezes gusting to as high as 35 miles per hour at times, senior Tom Berry (New Haw, Surrey, England) managed SDSU's best individual performance through two rounds after logging a combined 5-over 147 to tie for the 38th position with four other golfers. Following a round one total of 1-over 72, Berry stumbled down the stretch in the afternoon, closing with three straight bogeys to settle for a 4-over 75.
In addition, sophomore Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) and freshman Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) currently sit two shots in back of Berry, tying for the 49th spot at 7-over 149. Schauffele registered the Aztecs' low score of the second round after firing a 2-over 73, featuring three straight birdies on holes 10-12. Michelini also sank three birdies during the second round, but was undone by five bogeys and one double-bogey en route to a 75.
Rounding out the Aztecs' scoring five was junior Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.), who fired rounds of 75 and 78 to tie for 67th at 11-over 153. Kaiser drained three birdies of his own through the first 11 holes of the second round, but was unable to overcome double-bogeys on holes 12 and 18.
Washington's Chris Williams is the clubhouse leader after firing a 4-under 138 (70-68) on Tuesday, sharing the top spot with Jordan Niebrugge of Oklahoma State and Texas Tech's Finley Ewing, both of whom need to finish their respective second rounds on Wednesday. In the team standings, Washington (-3, 565) is lone school among the top five to have completed both rounds, trailing UCLA (-6) by three shots, followed by Oklahoma State (-1), Texas Tech (E) and USC (+4).
Final round action at The Prestige at PGA WEST gets underway for SDSU on Wednesday, starting at 9:20 a.m. PT. The Aztecs will tee off on holes 1 and 10 and will be paired with Colorado and Stirling University of Scotland, along with select individual golfers.