PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Santa Clara men's golf sits in the middle of a packed field after a second round 299 left them in seventh place after 36 holes at the Saint Mary's Invitational.
Nine of the 14 competing teams are within 11 shots of each other and occupy the third through 11th places on the team leaderboard. The Broncos fell four spots from the opening round and are seven shots behind third place Fresno State with a 595 total. San Diego State jumped into the lead at 579 with Saint Mary's the runner-up at 583.
"It wasn't our best round, but it kept us in the hunt," said head coach Rob Miller. "We're not yet to the point where we expect three good rounds. We need two and one that doesn't kill us. We want to play strong tomorrow and have a good finish. If we have a round like today, we'll be disappointed," he added.
Hayden Shieh had Tuesday's best round for the Broncos, duplicating his first round 2-over 73. The junior is tied for 12th at 4-over 146. "Hayden had another good round," Miller noted.
Freshman Matt McCarty couldn't follow up his first round 71 and dropped from the top of the leaderboard with a second round 79. He's tied for 32nd place along with teammate Derek Ackerman, who carded another 75, at 8-over 150.
Following his second round 5-over 76, Michiel Eyre III is tied for 48th at 153. With a 155 total, Charlie Watson is tied for 61st.
Final round action begins at 7:40 a.m. PT at the 6,927-yard, par-71 Poppy Hills Golf Club.
"It's a one round tournament now," Miller said. "There's going to be movement tomorrow. We just hope we're going in the right direction. Let's put together a good, solid round and see what happens."
Santa Clara Second Round Individual Results
T12. Hayden Shieh 73-73 = 146 (+4)
T32. Matt McCarty 71-79 = 150 (+8)
T32. Derek Ackerman 75-75 = 150 (+8)
T48. Michiel Eyre III 77-76 = 153 (+11)
T61. Charlie Watson 80-75 = 155 (+13)
Competing as an individual
T48. Evan McLeod 76-77 = 153 (+11)
T74. Devrath Das 77-82 = 159 (+17)
