ASU in tight battle for top at Hayt Invitational

February 23, 2009

Sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/byrne_james00.html">James Byrne</a> is still in first place and No. 7/ No. 10 ASU is in second after recording a 15-over par 303 on the second day of the John Hayt Invitational in Ponte Verda, Fla. The Sun Devils raised their two-round team total to 17-over par 593 (290-303), just two strokes behind the LSU Tigers.<separator></separator>Byrne continued his strong play on the course that formerly hosted the PLAYERS Championship, shooting a 1-over par 73. His 3-under par 141 two-day individual total has him tied with Zack Byrd of Coastal Carolina for the top spot.<separator></separator>"We are playing well and I would like to see us get a little bit of support for tournament leader <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/byrne_james00.html">James Byrne</a>," head coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/lein_randy00.html">Randy Lein</a> said after the round.<separator></separator>Fellow sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/gross_stephan01.html">St… Gross</a> moved up three spots to ninth after shooting a 3-over par 75, giving him a 5-over par 149 two-day total (74-75). <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/kennegard_jesper00.html"… Kennegard</a> ended the day with a 5-over par 77 and now has a 7-over par 151 two-round total (74-77), wrapping up the top-20 for the Sun Devils. Juniors <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/borsheim_knut00.html">Kn… Borsheim</a> and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/bierenbroodspot_tristan0… Bierenbroodspot</a> are at 8-over par 152 (74-78) and 15-over par 159 (77-82), respectively.<separator></separator>"We will have the same pairings and same tee-times tomorrow," explained head coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/lein_randy00.html">Randy Lein</a>. "If the conditions are similar to the way they have been the last two days, we should be accustomed to them. If they are a little better, hopefully we will make more birdies."<separator></separator>Arizona State jumped up one spot to No. 7 in the Golfstat standings and stayed No. 10 in Golfweek magazine.<separator></separator>Live scoring for the third and final round of the John Hayt Invitational, teeing off at 8 a.m., can be found at www.golfstat.com.