University Southern California Trojans
USC
Pac-10 Championship
USC Holds Slight Pac-10 Lead After 36 Holes
April 29, 2011 | Men's Golf
April 29, 2011
Sophomore Martin Trainer's pair of 2-under rounds, freshman Jeffrey Kang's 2-under second round (that featured a hole in one) led all around strong team play as the No. 17 USC men's golf team grinded its way to first place after a 36-hole first day of the 2011 Pac-10 Championships at the Stanford (Calif.) G.C. on Friday (April 29).
USC, bouncing around third through fifth for most of the day, vaulted to first at day's end as early leader Oregon, as well as Stanford, fell slightly off the pace. Troy, which entered the championships with three straight top 10 finishes, is sitting at 9-over 709 (355-354), one ahead of second-place Oregon (710) and three ahead of Stanford (712). UCLA is fourth (713) with California fifth (721), Oregon State and Washington State tied for sixth (723), Washington eighth (724), Arizona ninth (729) and ASU 10th (743).
"The guys hung in there all day," USC head coach Chris Zambri said. "I am proud of all of them for keeping their focus on a long day on a tough course."
Trainer, who entered the event with back-to-back top 5 finishes, earned a share of first at 4-under 136 (68-68), joining Oregon State's Alex Moore at the top of the leader board. He put together a clean first round with birdies on 1 and 18 to go 2-under. Trainer followed it with a second round that featured four birdies, including on three of the final six holes.
Freshman Jeffrey Kang claimed 10th place at even 140 (72-68). His first round began at 2-over after four holes but he was even the rest of the round. In the second, he was even with two birdies and two bogeys when he approached the par 3 17th hole. The last Trojan on the course, he hit his tee shot straight yet over the hole. But with his teammates watching and barking at the ball, it rolled back into the hole for a hole in one.
Sophomores T.J. Vogel (71-73) and Sam Smith (73-71) are tied for 21st at 4-over 144. Vogel's first round featured the unusual back-to-back holes of a triple bogey on 6 and an eagle on 7. From there, he went 1-under to put together a strong round that started 4-over after six holes. He was even in the second round before a triple bogey on 18.
Smith settled down in the first round after a bogey on 4 and a triple bogey on 5 to finish the rest of his first round at par. He was 3-over after 10 holes of the second round before birdies on 16 and 17 got him to 1-over for the round.
Junior Steve Lim is tied for 31st at 6-over 146 (72-74) while freshman Ramsey Sahyoun is tied 36th at 7-over 151 (74-77).
Action continues tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. USC is paired with Oregon and will tee off between at 10:36 and 11:16 a.m. Sunday's final round will begin at 8 a.m.
Players Mentioned
