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

April 28, 2008

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 <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/kennegard_jesper00.html"… Kennegard</a> 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.<separator></separator>ASU shot 354-361 and is at 5-over 715 and in sixth place. Stanford is at 3-under 707 (350-357).<separator></separator>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 <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/canizares_alejandro00.ht… Canizares</a> 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.<separator></separator>Freshman <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/gross_stephan01.html">St… Gross</a> 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.<separator></separator>Another freshman, <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/byrne_james00.html">James Byrne</a>, 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.<separator></separator>Senior and team captain <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/telliard_phil00.html">Ph… Telliard</a> 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).<separator></separator>Sophomore Braxton Marquez shot 74-76 and is 50th at 8-over 150, while sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/borsheim_knut00.html">Kn… Borsheim</a> 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.<separator></separator>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.<separator></separator>Live scoring of the tournament is available at www.golfstat.com.<separator></separator>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).<separator></separator>GOING FOR EIGHT: ASU coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/lein_randy00.html">Randy Lein</a> 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).<separator></separator>SUN DEVILS AS PAC-10 MEDALISTS: <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/casey_paul00.html">Paul Casey</a> 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), <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/mickelson_phil00.html">P… Mickelson</a> (1990), co-medalists Dan Forsman and Tony Grimes (1981), Jim Bertoncino (co-medalist in 1980) and co-medalists Scott Watkins and Dan Croonquist (1979). <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/lemke_niklas00.html">Nik… Lemke</a> finished second the past two seasons and tied for seventh in 2005.<separator></separator>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.