Sept. 27, 2013
Day One Results in PDF Format | Live Results
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - San Diego State's Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) finds himself in seventh place on the individual leaderboard after firing an even-par 144 on Friday during the first two rounds of the 59th annual William H. Tucker Invitational at the University of New Mexico Championship Course. As a team, the Aztecs shot a combined 24-over 600 (298-302) and currently occupy the eighth position in the standings heading into Saturday's final round.
After an opening round that featured 14 pars, two birdies and a pair of bogeys, Schauffele was unable to generate any momentum in the afternoon despite draining four birdies over his first 12 holes of the second round. The SDSU junior was 2-over at that juncture thanks to six bogeys, but finished strong with five pars and two birdies to salvage his second straight 72. With his effort, Schauffele remains just four shots in back of co-leaders Julian Brun of TCU and Arizona State's Jon Rahm, both of whom fired a 4-under 140 on the par-72, 7,562-yard track.
In addition, the Aztecs' Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.) sits six strokes off the pace and two behind Schauffele after posting a collective 2-over 146. The SDSU freshman overcame a rough stretch of two bogeys and a double bogey in the first round, sinking four straight birdies on the back nine en route to a 72. DeSantis tallied three additional birdies in the afternoon, but was undone by five bogeys and had to settle for a 74. Despite the inconsistency, the Carlsbad High alumnus still finds himself in contention in a four-way tie for 11th.
Conversely, the day was not kind to the remainder of the Aztec starting lineup. Kevin Ko (Coquitlam, B.C.) slipped 13 places from the morning session into a tie for 50th at 10-over 154. The SDSU sophomore fired an opening-round 75, highlighted by a trio of birdies, but was unable to recover from seven bogeys and a double bogey in the second round en route to a 79.
Austin Kaiser (Atascadero, Calif.) also experienced difficulty on Friday, finishing the first two rounds in a tie for 67th at 13-over 157. The Aztec senior was saddled with an 80 during the morning, but managed to trim three strokes off his score in the second round with the help of two birdies, including one on his final hole.
Meanwhile, sophomore Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) struggled in his first start of the fall schedule for the Scarlet and Black, carding scores of 79 and 82 to finish the day in a tie for 86th at 17-over 161.
Rounding out the Aztec delegation was senior James Holley (Chatsworth, Calif.), an individual competitor who wound up with in a tie for 67th with Kaiser following rounds of 78 and 79. Holley's day was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5, 595-yard No. 14 hole during the morning.
Arizona State opened up a commanding 11-shot lead over host New Mexico in the team standings after posting a combined 5-under 571, while Brigham Young (+15), USC (+17) and UNLV (+17) comprise the remainder of the top five.
San Diego State concludes play at the William H. Tucker Invitational with final-round action on Saturday when it tees off with Minnesota, TCU and UNLV, beginning at 7:45 a.m. MT.
William H. Tucker InvitationalDay One ResultsUNM Championship CourseAlbuquerque, N.M.Par 72, 7,562 yards
Team Scores (Top 5 of 17 teams + SDSU)1. Arizona State 284-287--571 (-5)2. New Mexico 290-292--582 (+6)3. Brigham Young 295-296--591 (+15)T4. UNLV 285-308--593 (+17)T4. USC 291-302--593 (+17)----8. San Diego State 298-302--600 (+24)
Individual Leaders (Top 7 of 104 + SDSU)T1. Julien Brun, TCU 69-71--140 (-4)T1. Jon Rahm, Arizona State 68-72--140 (-4)3. Andrej Bevins, New Mexico 67-75--142 (-2)T4. Gavin Green, New Mexico 73-70--143 (-1)T4. Alberto Sanchez, Arizona State 71-72--143 (-1)T4. Zane Thomas, UNLV 69-74--143 (-1)7. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 72-72--144 (E)----T11. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 72-74--146 (+2)T50. Kevin Ko, SDSU 75-79--154 (+10)T67. James Holley, SDSU* 78-79--157 (+13)T67. Austin Kaiser, SDSU 80-77--157 (+13)T86. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 79-82--161 (+17)
*competing as an individual