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Aztec senior one shot off the lead after 36 holes
Source: goaztecs.com
Photo courtesy goaztecs.com
March 12, 2018 (Chula Vista) - San Diego State men’s golf senior PJ Samiere (Kailua, Hawaii) sits in second place individually after firing an 8-under-par 137 Monday during the first two rounds of the 11th annual Lamkin San Diego Classic at San Diego Country Club.
As a team, the Aztecs find themselves in the second spot as well after recording identical rounds of 285-285 for a 36-hole aggregate of 6-under 570 on the par-72, 7,033-yard course layout. With its total, SDSU remains 17 shots behind front-runner Oklahoma State (-23), which rocketed to the top of the standings thanks to cards of 270-283, while North Carolina and Texas Tech share the third position at 4-under, followed closely by Arizona (-2).
Samiere shot a 67-69 over the first two rounds, offsetting two bogeys with a team-high 10 birdies, including six in the morning session alone, to finish the day one stroke in back of Texas Tech’s Frederik Nilehn (-9), while LMU’s Riley Elmes and Oklahoma State’s Zach Bauchou lurk in third place at 7-under, followed by fellow Cowboy teammate Matthew Wolff and the Lions’ unattached Nick Jan, both of whom fired a 6-under 138.
Among Samiere’s conversions was an impressive drain in round one at the par-3, 202-yard No. 13, which ranked as the third-most difficult hole on Monday.
In addition, Blake Abercrombie (Rocklin, Calif.) remains seven shots off the pace in a tie for 12th at 2-under 142 after carding rounds of 73-69. Despite 15 pars in the opening round, the Aztec senior managed just one birdie and was unable to make a dent in the leaderboard. However, the northern California native picked up some much-needed momentum in the afternoon, sinking five birdies to go with an eagle at the par-5, 485-yard No. 14, to vault 28 places in the standings.
Steve Sugimoto (San Diego, Calif.) was not as fortunate, slipping 10 places between the first and second rounds into a tie for 28th at 1-over 145. The Rancho Bernardo High alumnus opened with a 71, highlighted by a birdie on the par-4, 460-yard No. 18, which ranked as the toughest hole of the day. The SDSU freshman registered two additional drains in round two, including a make on his finishing green at No. 14, but a double-bogey-7 at No. 2, followed by bogeys at No. 10 and No. 13, forcing him to settle for a 74.
Elsewhere, Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) ended the day in a tie for 43rd at 3-over 147 on rounds of 74-73. The Aztec freshman also made birdie on his third hole of the morning at No. 18, but three straight bogeys on the fourth, fifth and sixth greens proved too much to overcome. Despite a modest improvement of one stroke, Anupansuebsai still managed to climb 10 spots in round two thanks in part to birdies at No. 2 and No. 12, along with 12 pars.
Rounding out the SDSU starting lineup was sophomore Trevor Norby (Carlsbad, Calif.), who struggled in his first appearance since late January, finishing the first 36 holes in 95th with a 15-over 159 after completing scores of 78-81.
The Aztecs also have four individuals participating at their lone home tournament of the season, including freshmen Zihao Jin (Beijing, China) and Christian Banke (Danville, Calif.), who remain in a tie for 60th at 5-over 149, along with junior Otto Vanhatalo (Espoo, Finland), while another freshman Ryan McCoy (Temecula, Calif.) sits two shots behind in tie for 74th at 7-over 151.
Jin’s day featured an eagle on the par-5, 513-yard No. 2 in the first round.
The Lamkin San Diego Classic concludes on Tuesday with final-round action when the Aztecs tee off alongside Oklahoma State and North Carolina in a shotgun start at 9:39 a.m. Admission to the tournament is free.
Lamkin San Diego Classic
Day One Results
San Diego C.C.
Chula Vista, Calif.
Par 72, 7,033 yards
Team Standings (Top 5 of 16 teams)
1. Oklahoma State 270-283—553 (-23)
2. San Diego State 285-285—570 (-6)
T3. North Carolina 288-284—572 (-4)
T3. Texas Tech 292-280—572 (-4)
5. Arizona 285-288—573 (-3)
Individual Leaders (Top 6 of 96 players + SDSU)
1. Frederik Nilehn, Texas Tech 69-66—135 (-9)
2. PJ Samiere, SDSU 67-69—136 (-8)
T3. Zach Bauchou, Oklahoma State 65-72—137 (-7)
T3. Riley Elmes, LMU 68-69—137 (-7)
T5. Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State 66-72—138 (-6)
T5. Nick Jan, LMU* 69-69—138 (-6)
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T12. Blake Abercrombie, SDSU 73-69—142 (-2)
T28. Steve Sugimoto, SDSU 71-74—145 (+1)
T43. Puwit Anupansuebsai, SDSU 74-73—147 (+3)
T60. Otto Vanhatalo, SDSU* 73-76—149 (+5)
T60. Zihao Jin, SDSU* 73-76—149 (+5)
T60. Christian Banke, SDSU* 71-78—149 (+5)
T74. Ryan McCoy, SDSU* 75-76—151 (+7)
95. Trevor Norby, SDSU 78-81—159 (+15)
* - Competing as an individual
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