April 11, 2015
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The 34th-ranked San Diego State men's golf team sits in ninth place at the 69th annual Western Collegiate after play was suspended toward the end of the second round due to darkness. The Aztecs were one of eight squads in the 14-team field to complete all 36 holes before nightfall, posting a collective 36-over 736 in the six-count-five tournament on the par-70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo Golf Course.
Senior Xander Schauffele (San Diego, Calif.) finished the day in a tie for 12th place on the individual leaderboard at 1-over 141, while junior Riccardo Michelini (Carpi, Italy) and sophomore Ricky DeSantis (Carlsbad, Calif.) landed in a tie for 34th after each carded a 7-over 147.
Starting on the No. 3 hole, Schauffele notched a 71 in the morning session, offsetting three bogeys and a double-bogey with four birdies, including successful conversions on the 10th and 16th, which ranked among the six toughest holes in round one. The Scripps Ranch High alumnus then managed to climb eight places in the afternoon after firing a second-round 70, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5, 502-yard ninth.
With his effort, Schauffele remains seven shots behind front-runner Scottie Scheffler of Texas (-6), who posted rounds of 66 and 68, while California's Shotaro Ban occupies the second spot with three holes to complete in round two, followed by Maverick McNealy and Viraat Badhwar of Stanford and Arizona State's Jon Rahm, who find themselves tied for the third position at 2-under heading into Sunday.
Meanwhile, DeSantis also displayed upward mobility in the second round, vaulting 37 places from the 71st position after shooting a 70 of his own. In just his second start of the spring, the Carlsbad High product stumbled to a 77 in round one, but recorded only one blemish on his scorecard in the afternoon, notching 16 pars to go with a birdie on the par-4, 363-yard 17th.
However, Michelini suffered the opposite fate, slipping six places from the 28th spot despite draining six birdies on the day. The Aztec junior was 2-under through 14 holes in the morning, but was forced to settle for a 72 after closing with four straight bogeys. The native Italian appeared to have righted the ship in round two with three pars and a pair of birdies on his first five holes, but was haunted by seven bogeys the rest of the way en route to a disappointing 75.
Elsewhere, Nahum Mendoza III (San Diego, Calif.) ended the day in a tie for 60th at 11-over 151, while teammate Ryann Ree (Redondo Beach, Calif.) remains one stroke behind in 64th. Mendoza sank six birdies as well on Saturday, but was plagued by a pair of triple-bogeys in the morning, ultimately finishing with a 78. The Francis Parker High alumnus minimized the damage in round two, countering four bogeys and a double-bogey with a trio of birdies en route to a 70.
Despite posting a team-high eight birdies overall, Ree was the victim of inconsistency on Saturday. After opening with a 74 that was stained by a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4, No. 2, the junior transfer struggled with a 78 in the afternoon, tumbling 18 places from the 46th position.
Rounding out the SDSU starting lineup was freshman PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii), who landed in a tie for 75th at 14-over 154 after carding rounds of 78-76.
In addition, the Aztecs were represented by sophomore Brian Song (Beverly Hills, Calif.), an unattached competitor who was also unable to solve the challenging course layout on Saturday, finishing the first two rounds in a tie for 44th at 9-over 14 on scores of 73-76.
In the team standings, Stanford (+7) opened a five-stroke lead over Texas (+12) after each completed their rounds, while Oregon current occupies the third spot with three holes left in round two.
A total of 22 players from six schools will finish the second round on Sunday, beginning at 7:30 a.m. PDT, before the field is reconfigured for the final round, which is slated to commence in a shotgun start at 8:45 a.m.
Western IntercollegiateDay One ResultsPasatiempo G.C.Santa Cruz, Calif.Par 70, 6,615 yards(Second round suspended due to darkness)
Team Scores (Top 5 of 14 teams)^1. Stanford 354-353--707 (+7)2. Texas 346-366--712 (+12)3. Oregon 361 (+13) through 15 holes4. UCLA 358 (+22) through 15 holes5. Washington 355-369--724 (+24)---9. San Diego State 370-366--736 (+36)
Individual Leaders (Top 6 of 96 players + SDSU)1. Scottie Scheffler, Texas 66-68--134 (-6)2. Shotaro Ban, California 68 (-3) through 15 holesT3. Maverick McNealy, Stanford 68-70--138 (-2)T3. Viraat Badhwar, Stanford 69-69--138 (-2)T3. Jon Rahm, Arizona State 68-70--138 (-2)T3. Brandon McIver, Oregon 72 (-2) through 15 holes---T12. Xander Schauffele, SDSU 71-70--141 (+1)T34. Riccardo Michelini, SDSU 72-75--147 (+7)T34. Ricky DeSantis, SDSU 77-70--147 (+7)T44. Brian Song, SDSU* 73-76--149 (+9)T60. Nahum Mendoza III, SDSU 78-73--151 (+11)T64. Ryann Ree, SDSU 74-78--152 (+12)T75. PJ Samiere, SDSU 76-78--154 (+14)
^ - six-count-five event* - competed as an individual