April 23, 2016
TUCSON, Ariz. - San José State men's golfer Matthew Murray shot a three-under 69 in the second round of the 2016 Mountain West Championship as only four players shot better than 69 on the day. Murray climbed 21 spots into a 23th place tie as only Wyoming's Ryan Wallen made a bigger jump in the standings moving up 26 spots to a 13th place tie with a round of 68.
Murray had his best round in relation to par as a Spartan. On the par-72, 7,194-yard Catalina Course at Omni Tucson National, Murray made five birdies and two bogeys. Four of those birdies came in a six-hole stretch from the ninth to the 14th holes.
"Matt had better focus today. He was focused on playing one shot at a time," said Spartans head coach John Kennaday.
Murray's six-shot improvement from the first to second round was equaled by Kevin Velo, who shot an even par 72 on Saturday. The freshman from Danville, Calif., also matched Murray's total of five birdies, but he was hurt by a pair of double-bogeys. Velo's round was the second lowest score for the Spartans. He is at six-over 150 for the championship putting him in a 43rd place tie.
The Spartans shot a one-over 289 which was the third lowest team score in the second round. Buoyed by Murray and Velo scores, the Spartans improved by six shots from Friday to Saturday's round to move up a spot in the team standings to a 10th place tie, only four shots out of seventh place.
"The guys played okay today. We got really close to getting it going today as the team is making a move in the right direction. I feel positive, we all feel pretty positive moving forward," said Kennaday.
Taylor Bromley, the Spartans' first round leader, got off to a hot start making birdies in each of the first three holes to make the turn at two-under. However, on the back nine, Bromley shot four-over to finish the round at two-over 74 despite making a team high six birdies on the day. For the tournament, the senior sits in a 28th place tie at two-over 146.
Scott Munger had the final counting score for the Spartans shooting a two-over 74 for the second day in a row. Munger is tied for 36th in the tournament at four-over 148.
Bradley Keyer shot a four-over 76 and is tied for 43rd place at six-over 150 along with Velo.
"We gave ourselves a lot of opportunities today. I hope for the same tomorrow," said Kennaday.
#37-ranked New Mexico now leads in the team standings at 11-under 565, two shots ahead of #29-ranked UNLV, as both shot under par for the day. They were the only schools that shot lower than San José State during Saturday's round.
Corey Eddings of Nevada maintained his leads atop the player leaderboard with his one-under 71 round. Eddings' eight-under 136 leads New Mexico's Sam Kim by a stroke.
The final round of the Mountain West Championship will continue on Sunday with 18 holes. The Spartans will tee it up from the first hole starting with Keyer at 7:00 a.m. PT, Velo at 7:08 a.m., Munger at 7:16 a.m., Bromley at 7:24 a.m. and Murray at 7:32 a.m. Fans can follow all of the final round action with live scoring updates provided by Golfstat. (Team Leaderboard, Player Leaderboard)
2016 Mountain West Championship Omni Tucson National, Tucson, Ariz. Par 72, 7,194-yards April 23, 2016 | ||||
TEAM STANDINGS | ||||
POS | SCHOOL | TO PAR | RD1-RD2-TOTAL | |
1. | #37-New Mexico | -11 | 280-285-565 | |
2. | #29-UNLV | -9 | 286-281-567 | |
3. | Fresno State | -6 | 275-295-570 | |
4. | #22-San Diego State | -4 | 280-292-572 | |
T5. | Colorado State | -3 | 281-292-573 | |
T5. | Nevada | -3 | 282-291-573 | |
T7 | Air Force | +4 | 287-293-580 | |
T7. | Wyoming | +4 | 290-290-580 | |
T7. | Boise State | +4 | 291-289-580 | |
T10. | San José State | +8 | 295-289-584 | |
T10. | Utah State | +8 | 293-291-584 | |
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS | ||||
POS | PLAYER, SCHOOL | TO PAR | RD1-RD2-TOTAL | |
1. | Corey Eddings, Nevada | -8 | 65-71-136 | |
T2. | Trevor Clayton, Fresno State | -7 | 66-71-137 | |
T2. | Sam Kim, New Mexico | -7 | 69-68-137 | |
4. | Logan France, Boise State | -6 | 71-67-138 | |
5. | Grant Booth, Nevada | -5 | 72-67-139 | |
SAN JOSÉ STATE RESULTS | ||||
POS | PLAYER | TO PAR | RD1-RD2-TOTAL | |
T23. | E | 75-69-144 | ||
T28. | +2 | 72-74-146 | ||
T36. | +4 | 74-74-148 | ||
T43. | +6 | 78-72-150 | ||
T43. | +6 | 74-76-150 | ||