University Southern California Trojans
USC Looks To Stay Hot At Western Intercollegiate
April 14, 2011 | Men's Golf
April 14, 2011
The No. 25 USC men's golf team, led by 2010 Freshman All-American T.J. Vogel and 2010 All-Pac-10 second teamer junior Steve Lim, is fresh off its first win of the year and is gaining momentum as it prepares to play in the 65th annual Western Intercollegiate, Saturday and Sunday (April 16-17).
Host San Jose State will be joined by USC, Arizona State, Augusta State, California, Colorado, Denver, Hawaii, New Mexico State, Oregon, San Diego State, Stanford, UC Irvine, UCLA and Washington. Teams will play 36 holes on Saturday and 18 on Sunday. Action begins at 8:15 a.m. each day.
Live results of the event will be available at Golfstat.com.
The Trojans, who feature one junior and a mix of sophomores and freshmen in the regular starting lineup under fifth-year head coach Chris Zambri, claimed their first team win since 2009 when they posted a 14-stroke victory at the 2011 ASU Thunderbird Invitational last week. Four Trojans finished in the top seven, led by freshman Jeffrey Kang, who was third.
The victory in Tempe came on the heels of USC's third-place finish at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play in March and marked Troy's fifth top 5 finish this year in strokeplay events.
Lim is Troy's active leader in rounds in the 60s (18) and currently leads the squad in stroke average (72.67). In three fall events, his best effort was a sixth place finish at 3-under 213 (69-69-75) at the U.S. Collegiate Championship. He tied for fourth at the ASU Thunderbird with a 4-under 209 (70-68-71), his top result of the spring. He opened the spring slate with a tie for 22nd at the Amer Ari Invitational at 4-under 212 (70-73-69), tied for 27th at the USC Collegiate Invitational at 5-over 218 (69-81-68) and tied for 17th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters at 6-over 22 (75-74-73). At the Callaway Collegiate Match Play, he finished 3-1.
Vogel, who led USC in stroke average most of the year before recently slipping to second (72.85), finished the fall with a pair of top 5 finishes, tying for fourth at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational at 5-over 215 (68-74-73) and taking second at the U.S. Collegiate Championships at 7-under 209 (74-69-66). He also tied for 20th at the Gifford Intercollegiate. He has cooled off in the spring slate, not finishing better than a tie for 38th at the Amer Ari Invitational. He has 10 career rounds in the 60s.
Sophomore Martin Trainer has a trio of top 10 finishes this year including two in the fall, a tie for seventh at the Gifford Intercollegiate at 2-over 215 (73-70-72) and a tie for eighth at the Bill Cullum Invitational at even 216 (71-71-74). His other came at the ASU Thunderbird where he carded a 4-under 209 (74-66-69), his second round a season best. He also tied for 21st at the Del Walker Invitational at 8-over 218 (69-75-75) and tied for 26th at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational at 14-over 224 (74-78-72). At the Callaway Collegiate Match Play, he finished 3-1.
Freshman Jeffrey Kang notched a career-best third at the ASU Thunderbird, firing a 5-under 209 (71-69-68) for his best spring result. That result followed up his strong showing at the Callaway Collegiate Match Play, where he went 4-0. His previous best USC strokeplay finish was a tie for fourth at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational at 5-over 215 (73-71-71). He also tied for 33rd at the U.S. Collegiate Championship and tied for 36th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters.
Sophomore Sam Smith has been one of USC's top golfers all spring, posting a pair of top 10 finishes and four in the top 30. He tied for seventh at the ASU Thunderbird at 2-under 211 (72-68-71) and tied for fourth at the Anteater Invitational at 2-under 214 (71-73-70). He also tied for 17th at the Amer Ari Invitational at 5-under 211 (66-69-76) and tied for 29th at the USC Collegiate Invitational at 6-over 219 (72-76-71). He competed in two fall events, tying for 62nd at the U.S. Collegiate Championship and finishing 73rd at the PING-Golfweek Fall Preview.
Senior Bo DeHuff tied for eighth at the Bill Cullum Invitational at even 216 (70-73-73) and tied for 28th at the Anteater Invitational.
Freshman Ramsey Sahyoun has played in six events, his best finish a tie for 18th at the Gifford Intercollegiate at 7-over 229 (79-69-72). He also tied for 29th at the USC Collegiate Invitational at 6-over 219 (71-77-71) and tied for 40th at the ASU Thunderbird at 7-over 220 (74-72-74).
Sophomore Stewart Hagestad registered a season-best tie for 12th at the Anteater Invitational at 5-over 221 (75-71-75) and followed it with a tie for 14th at the USC Collegiate Invitational at 2-over 215 (72-72-71).
