Men's golf close to lead of Pac-10 Championships

The men's golf squad is eight shots back of Stanford after two rounds of the Pac-10 Men's Golf Champioships held Monday at The Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif. Freshmen Jesper Kennegard leads the Sun Devils with a 2-under 140, which is just two shots back of the lead as ASU is playing with three freshmen, two sophomores and a senior.

ASU shot 354-361 and is at 5-over 715 and in sixth place. Stanford is at 3-under 707 (350-357).

Kennegard already has four top-five finishes and five top-10 finishes, as he entered the tournament with a 71.52 stroke average in 27 rounds, ahead of the ASU freshmen record set by four-time All-American and 2003 NCAA medalist Alejandro Canizares in 2003 when he posted a 71.65 average in eight events. Kennegard shot a 67-73 on the day and posted two eagles and was 6-under on the par-5 holes.

Freshman Stephan Gross is tied for 12th at 1-under 141, three shots back of a four-way tie for first with four players from four schools. Gross posted a tournament leading 29 pars in 36 holes.

Another freshman, James Byrne, is tied for 20th at 1-over 143 (71-72), as he and Kennegard were the only two players in the 60-man field with two eagles.

Senior and team captain Phil Telliard is tied for 31st at 3-over 145, as his 69 in the second round included five birdies and is the second-lowest score of his career. He is tied for the tournament lead in par-3 scoring at 2-under (2.75 per hole).

Sophomore Braxton Marquez shot 74-76 and is 50th at 8-over 150, while sophomore Knut Borsheim is at 11-over 153 (72-81) and tied for 55th. Marquez played the par 5 holes at 6-under, tied with three other players (including Kennegard) for the tops in the first two rounds.

The Meadow Club (par-71, 6,686 yards) will host single rounds on Tuesday, April 29, and Wednesday, April 30. The Pac-10 Championship counts the low five scores from the six-man teams.

Live scoring of the tournament is available at www.golfstat.com.

ASU AT THE PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Arizona State has won 11 Pac-10 titles in its 29 seasons, including a conference record six straight from 1995-2000. In addition to the six straight Pac-10 titles, ASU's other five Pac-10 titles have come in 1979 (its first year in the league), 1981, 1989, 1990 and 1993. ASU tied for the league title in 2005 with Washington but lost on a tiebreaker formula. In its past five Pac-10 championships, ASU has finished third (2003, 2006 and 2007), second (2004) and tied for first (2005).

GOING FOR EIGHT: ASU coach Randy Lein has led ASU to seven Pac-10 titles in his 15 seasons. ASU won titles in 1993, Lein's first year, and then won six straight from 1995-2000. ASU tied for first but lost in a tiebreaker in 2005, finished second in 2001 and 2004 and third in 1994, 2003, 2006 and 2007. Since joining the Pac-10 in the 1978-79 school year, ASU has finished out of the top five just twice in its 29 championships (ninth in 2002 and sixth in 1983).

SUN DEVILS AS PAC-10 MEDALISTS: Paul Casey won three straight Pac-10 titles from 1998-2000, which is the last time a Sun Devil won the title and is a conference record for consecutive Pac-10 titles. Other Sun Devils who have won the Pac-10 championship are Scott Johnson (1997), Phil Mickelson (1990), co-medalists Dan Forsman and Tony Grimes (1981), Jim Bertoncino (co-medalist in 1980) and co-medalists Scott Watkins and Dan Croonquist (1979). Niklas Lemke finished second the past two seasons and tied for seventh in 2005.

NEXT UP: The 2008 NCAA West Regional will be held in Bremerton, Wash., May 15-17. The 2008 NCAA Championships will be held in West Lafayette, Ind., May 28- 31 with Purdue serving as host.