March 30, 2009

Santa Cruz, California -

During second round play at the Western Intercollegiate there wasn't one team that figuratively rose to the top. Many teams traded places up and down the leaderboard but there was really only one unanimous victor when the dust settled late Monday afternoon. Pasatiempo Golf Club.

The challenging Alister MacKenzie-designed course flexed every bit of its muscle during the second round of play. With undulation not unlike another of Mackenzie's masterpieces, Augusta National, the greens allowed few birdies. Combine a strong breeze off of the nearby Pacific Ocean with tough pin placements and many holes came dangerously close to unplayable. 

The Tigers, with room to jump up the leaderboard, saw opportunity pass them by and failed to make a jump on day two of tournament play. Starting the day at +14 the Tigers shot a combined +27 in the second round to stay in the exact same position they started the day in. Things started hot for the team early on as Bordeaux eagled his opening hole; the par-5 ninth and both Van Sicklen and Kucich had early birdies.

Sophomore Patrick Kucich turned in one of the top rounds of the day with a three-over 73 and was joined by teammate TJ Bordeaux. The rest of the Pacific Golf team didn't fare nearly as well; with Alex Johnson posting an 80 while Van Sicklen shot 81 and Lakdawala an 85. Kucich's +7, two-day score put him in 12^th place entering tomorrow's final round.

“The opportunity was certainly there for us to do something and be in contention for a win in a great tournament,” said head coach Brandon Goethals. “But we didn't do that today. We simply joined in with the rest of the field and held on instead of playing smarter golf. With some of those pins out there today and the conditions the field faced you had to really be smart out there today. We were just average.”

No teams were immune to the conditions and course set-up as the low-round was 12-over par, courtesy of Oregon State. Fresno State leads the tournament after the first 36-holes with Oregon just four strokes back. The tournament continues Tuesday morning with a final 18-holes.