Pinckney has career-best finish as men's golf takes sixth
Arizona native Scott Pinckney had a career-best second-place finish to lead the Arizona State men's golf team to sixth place at the 2011 USC Collegiate Invitational. The Sun Devils recorded a 17-over par 869 (292-292-285) at the two-day. 54-hole event held at North Ranch C.C. in Westlake Village, Calif.
Pinckney, who is from Anthem, carded a 4-under par 67 on the final 18 holes after shooting an even par 71 in the first two rounds and ended with a 4-under par 209 (71-71-67). He has placed in the top-10 in all three of ASU's spring 2011 tournaments, tying for sixth at the Amer Ari Invitational and tying for 10th at the Battle at the Beach .
The 7:30 a.m. (PT) start was delayed for the second day in a row due to morning frost on the course, forcing golfers to complete the second half of the second round and play the third round.
Senior Thomas Buran shot an even par 71 in the second round and a 3-over par 74 in the third round to tie for 35th with a 7-over par 220 (75-71-74). Junior Philip Francis finished with an 8-over par 221 (74-78-69) and tied for 40th following a 2-under par 69 in the final round and a 7-over par 78 in the second round.
Senior Oscar Zetterwall recorded a 9-over par 222 (72-75-75) after collecting a 4-over par 75 in both the second and third rounds and tied for 44th. Senior Jesper Kennegard shot a 4-over par 75 in the second round and a 6-over par 77 in the third round, putting him at 15-over par 228 (76-75-77).
San Diego State won the team title with a 2-under par 850 (282-279-289), followed by a trio of Pac-10 squads. UCLA, the runner-up, collected an even par 852 (280-286-286), Oregon shot a 9-over par 861 (282-288-291) to take third and Stanford placed fourth with an 11-over par 863 (285-289-289). USC finished in eighth, while California and Washington took ninth and 12th, respectively.
ASU will take the course again March 11-13 for the Southern Highlands Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev.