USD Men's Golf Tied for 12th After Two Rounds at NCAA Championship

Ian Maspat still leading the Toreros at T-13, four-under

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The second round of the NCAA Championship for San Diego men's golf commenced Saturday at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa.

The beauty of college golf is that although the game might be played individually, the team aspect plays a pivotal role as they finish the second round tied for 12th. That paid dividends as Cooper Humphreys and Reid Piron led USD even par rounds on a breezy day that challenged the field.

Piron, USD's first man out, got things rolling after two bogeys in the first three holes. The freshman reeled in three straight birdies on hole Nos. 4-6. On the back nine, Piron logged a birdie on the par-4 13th before a couple of bogeys to end his round.

In the second round Saturday, there was only one player that recorded a birdie on the opening hole: Cooper Humphreys. Humphreys then recorded 11 consecutive pars before a tough double bogey on the par-4 13th and a bogey on the par-4 15th. However, Humphreys bounced back, registering two birdies to close out his round on the par-4 17th and the par-5 18th.

Despite shooting 5-over 77 in the first round, You Seong Choi bounced back Saturday. The junior limited the extra shots by joining Humphreys and Piron with a 1-under 35 on the front nine. That included birdies on the par-4 fourth and the par-3 eighth. On the back nine, Choi recorded three bogeys before ending his not on a high note with a birdie on the par-5 18th.

Ultimately, San Diego changed their approach on the final hole of both nines. After shooting 6-over on both the par-4 ninth and par-5 19th Friday, USD made five pars on the ninth and logged four birdies and a bogey on the 18th.

Ian Maspat, who had a strong opening round Friday with a 6-under 66, struggled Saturday with the winds playing a pivotal role. Maspat bogeyed the par-4 fourth. He then sandwiched a double in between two birdies on holes No. 6-8.

Maspat made the turn at 5-under par for the tournament before logging a couple of bogeys. However he bounced back with a birdie on the 18th.

Reed Arnaldo had a strong opening round on Friday. However, he struggled Saturday, shooting 5-over 77. That included a quadruple bogey on the fourth but got one stroke back on a birdie on the par-4 11th.

On the leaderboard, San Diego is tied for 12th with Stanford at 1-over par. Stanford sit one stroke ahead of the Toreros while Pepperdine and North Carolina are tied for ninth at -1.

Auburn took advantage of scoring 16-under par Saturday to take an eight-shot lead over Texas and Vanderbilt going into the third round.

Individually, Maspat is tied for 13th through 36 holes with seven others.

UP NEXT
San Diego gets set for the third round of the NCAA Championships Sunday at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa. A cut is in play after Sunday for the top 15 teams to move on to Monday's fourth and final round of stroke play before the top eight advance to match play.

Here are the tee times for tomorrow as the Toreros tee off from the 10th hole with golfers from Oklahoma and North Carolina. (All times Pacific)