Men’s Golf
Early in the first round of the 12-team Oregon Duck Invitational on Monday at Junction City, Ore., No. 24 San Diego State was struggling. Or, as head coach Ryan Donovan puts it, “sucking.”
Oregon State took the morning lead, shooting a 3-under-par 285, SDSU shot a 288 even-par for a second-place tie with Nevada.
Then came the second round in the afternoon.
The Aztecs suddenly came alive and battled to a 10-under-par 278, putting them in first place, seven shots ahead of their closest rival, the Beavers.
“It’s a three-round tournament, and the first round I really saw it as us getting used to the course,” said Donovan, whose team played the final round yesterday (results were not in as of deadline). “We took advantage of having learned the course in the second round.”
Knowing the course allowed players such as sophomore Cory Segall – who shot an 8-over-par 80 in the first round – to improve dramatically, posting a 4-under-par 68 in round two.
Senior Andrew Scott, arguably SDSU’s best player, went for an average 73 in the early round but finished strong, posting a 3-under-par 69 – good for fourth on the individual scores list.
Tied with Scott was senior Josh Warthen, who shot a 1-under-par 71 in both rounds.
Donovan kept a level head about his team’s up-and-down performance.
“There was nothing spectacular about our play,” Donovan said. “We just played good golf.”
Women’s Golf
In its first event without senior Heather MacRae, the Aztecs played four top-50 teams at the 16-team Oregon Duck Invitational at Creswell, Ore. on Monday.
Without MacRae, who had been arguably the team’s best performer, they needed someone to step up.
Enter senior Megan Mulhaupt, who after MacRae’s departure to train for the Scottish national team, played admirably with a 4-over-par 76.
Sophomore Anna Booth also filled in for MacRae, finishing one stroke behind her with a 5-over-par 77. Mulhaupt finished tied for 10th place and Booth finished tied for 14th place.
SDSU finished the first round at a 30-over-par 318 for a seventh place tie with New Mexico and Oregon. The final round will be played today.
Freshman Maki Kamimura stayed close to her average of 78.87, with an 8-over-par 80, while junior Jamie Oliver and freshman Petra Cole both posted scores in the mid-80s.
-Compiled by Contributor Daniel Corpuz
