WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – The Washington State University men's golf team opened its 2014-15 season with a 578 (+10) through two rounds of the Southwestern Intercollegiate presented by James Kim. The Cougars carded a 292 (+8) in the opening round to sit tied for fourth place at the par-71 North Ranch Country Club. In the second round the Cougar men carded the lowest second-round score of the day, shooting 2-over par (286) and jumping into second place in the 12-team field. No. 3 Stanford (+4, 572) finished six strokes ahead of WSU.
“The team did a great job today,” Cougar Head Coach Garrett Clegg said. “It's great to have a lower round in the afternoon. The guys did a phenomenal job fighting back. The first nine is the harder part of the course, and we did a good job after the turn.”
Led by senior Charlie Mroz, the Cougars garnered four competitors in the top 20. Mroz carded two birdies and an eagle in the second round to finished 2-under par (69). Coupled with a first round 72 (+1), Mroz is currently in sixth place on the leaderboard. Mroz sits three strokes back from a three-way tie for first place (-4, 138).
Cougar redshirt senior Sang Lee notched four birdies in the opening round to save par and finish with a two-round score of 145 (+3). Junior transfer Evan Omelia carded four birdies on the back nine in his first round and also finished the day 3-over par. Lee and Omelia are currently tied for 13th place.
In his collegiate debut, freshman Derek Bayley recovered after a first round 78 (+7), carding five birdies on the back nine in his second round to finish 2-under par (69). Bayley is currently tied for 20th place. Junior Bhurinat Songpaiboon is tied for 61st with a 157 (+15).
“I'm really proud of our guys,” Clegg said. “Tomorrow we get to go out and battle USC and Stanford – battle some nerves. It'll be fun.”
The tournament concludes tomorrow with the final round of play beginning at 8 a.m. Live scoring will be available at golfstat.com for the tournament's duration. Tournament results and recap will be available at the conclusion of competition at wsucougars.com.
