With winds gusting over 25 mph and rain falling during portions of the round, the Georgia State men's golf team used steady play to jump one spot into sixth place at the 2009 Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational on Tuesday. After an opening round 293 (5-over), the Panthers shot a 10-over, 298 to move up the standings.
Senior Tom Sherreard led the Panthers with an even par 72 and moved into a tie for 13th place after an opening round 74. Sherreard scored the most steady play of the team, making one birdie and one bogey to go along with 16 pars for the round.
After a tough start to his round, junior Brent Paul rebounded with 15 pars over his final 16 holes to shoot a second round 76. Paul shot an opening round even par 72 and stands tied for 19th with 18 holes to play.
Junior Alan Fowler fired a second round 75 and stands tied with junior Alex Castro for 31st place. Fowler got off to a great start, but stumbled with a bogey, double bogey finish as winds swirled on the final two holes.
Castro, who opened the tournament with a 73, shot a second round 76. Castro managed to birdie the par 5 12th hole, but could not get any other putts to drop.
Redshirt-sophomore Jared Cagle improved by two strokes from the first round and shot a second round 75 to move up into a tie for 39th.
San Diego State continued to lead with 18 holes to play, shooting a second round, 2-under, 286 and has a 12 stroke lead heading into Wednesday's final round. Santa Clara tied the Aztecs for the best round of the day and moved into second place at even par thru 36 holes. Illinois and Long Beach State are tied for third as play moves to the George Fazio course for the final 18 holes.
Georgia State opened play on the par-72, 7,218 Arnold Palmer course for the first two rounds of the tournament. The Panthers will move to the par-72, 6,535-yard George Fazio course for the final round on Wednesday.
San Diego State's continued to own the top of the individual leader board as well. Andrew Cooley shot a second round 68 and stands at 6-under par for the tournament to lead by one with 18 holes to play. Santa Clara's Rick Lamb shot a second round 69 and stands one stroke back. San Diego State's Alex Kang and first round leader Johan Carlsson stand third and fourth going into Wednesday.
Only eight players in the 65-man field are under par thru 36 holes.
With just 18 holes per day, members of the team have had several opportunities to take in some of the best features of the island. On Monday afternoon, several members of the travel party visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial, before heading into Waikiki for some dinner and shopping. Other members of the travel party stayed behind at Turtle Bay for some rest and relaxation in the sun.
Live stats will be available via GolfStat.com for tomorrow's final round. Georgia State will tee off beginning at 7:30 a.m. HT (12:30 p.m. ET) on Wednesday for the final round of play. Full recaps of each round will be posted at GeorgiaStateSports.com when play concludes for the day.
Team Results:
1. San Diego State - 278-286--564
2. Santa Clara - 290-286--576
T3. Long Beach State - 285-294--579
T3. Illinois - 290-289--579
5. New Mexico State - 291-299--590
6. Georgia State - 293-298--591
7. British Columbia - 295-297--592
8. Hawaii - 288-305--593
9. Hawaii-Pacific - 293-307-600
10. Air Force - 298-314--611
11. BYU-Hawaii - 305-315--619
12. Osaka Gakuin - 318-312--630
Individuals
T13. Tom Sherreard - 74-72--146
T19. Brent Paul - 72-76--148
T31. Alan Fowler - 74-75-149
T31. Alex Castro - 73-76--149
T39. Jared Cagle - 77-75--152
