BREMERTON, Wash. – The Santa Clara men's golf team is right in the thick of the race after a second round 292 left them tied for second place with a 4-over 580, three shots behind Saint Mary's after two rounds of the tightly contested West Coast Conference Championship, completed today at the at the 7,007-yard, par-72 Gold Mountain Golf Club Olympic Course in Bremerton, Wash.
Saint Mary's had the best round of the day firing a 3-under 288 to move into first place with a two-round total 577, ahead of the Broncos and BYU. San Diego and Pacific are tied for fourth at 581 with Pepperdine and San Francisco in a sixth place tied at 582.
"We're right there, we got we hoped for," exclaimed head coach Rob Miller. "It's going to be an 18-hole shootout tomorrow."
Difficult weather conditions led to higher scores in today's second round with only three teams bettering their score from yesterday. "It was calm in the morning and blustery in the afternoon," Miller noted. "We played the front pretty well, but weather conditions were tougher today, the wind kicked up and we were delayed a few times. Between us, BYU and Pacific it was more challenging."
Senior Scott Lowe matched his first round score with today's 1-under 71 and will enter the final round in a fourth place tie at 2-under 142. "Scott is just steady," Miller noted. "He's hitting the ball great."
Pacific's Byron Meth, who also shot a 71 today, leads the field at 7-under 137 with defending champion Grant Forrest of San Diego second at 5-under 139. Alex Bungert of Saint Mary's had the low-round of the day with a 5-under 67 to move into third place with a 140 (-4) total.
Sophomore Gio Gandionco shot a 1-over 73 today to place in a tie for 15th overall at 1-over 145. Freshman Evan McLeod carded a birdie on his 10th hole of the day and scored par on the final eight to finish at even-par 72.
After a first round 71, Tyler Kertson stumbled to an 81 today playing the back nine at 7-over. "We had to play well for him today," Miller said. "Tyler has been solid all season but he had trouble on the back nine."
Sophomore Drew Miller had a five-shot improvement over his first round score with today's 76 for a two-round total of 157 (+13).
The top three teams will tee off Wednesday's final round in 10-minute intervals from the first hole starting at 9:40 a.m. (PDT). Live scoring for the WCC Championship is available at www.golfstat.com or by clicking the link provided on the Bronco's website. Also, visit www.wccsports.com for daily recaps and player interviews.
Coach Miller was confident in his assessment of tomorrow's final round. "We are going to go out there tomorrow and put it all together and win this thing."
WCC Championship, 2nd Round Team Standings
1. St. Mary's 292-285 = 577 (+1)
T2. Brigham Young 285-295 = 580 (+4)
T2. Santa Clara 288-292 = 580 (+4)
T4. San Diego 291-290 = 581 (+5)
T4. Pacific 286-295 = 581 (+5)
T6. Pepperdine 290-292 = 582 (+6)
T6. San Francisco 288-294 = 582 (+6)
8. Gonzaga 295-292 = 587 (+11)
9. Loyola Marymount 296-305 = 601 (+25)
Santa Clara 2nd Round Individual Results
T4. Scott Lowe 71-71 = 142 (-2)
T15. Gio Gandionco 72-73 = 145 (+1)
T17. Evan McLeod 74-72 = 146 (+2)
T32. Tyler Kertson 71-81 = 152 (+8)
42. Drew Miller 81-76 = 157 (+13)
