Westlake Village, Calif.----- For the second consecutive day, junior Kotaro Murata posted San Jose State University's best score at 43rd Southwestern Invitational presented by Topgolf men's golf tournament with a one-under par 71.
Murata upped his birdie count from three for the first 18 holes to five in round two with three on the front nine and two more on the back side en route to his second one-under par round of the season. After 36 holes, the transfer from the University of Hawaii has a 143 total and is tied for 16th place in the 64-player field.
Playing in the first foursome of the day, senior Vijay Srinivasan was the other Spartan on the day to match or better par with an even par 72. Srinivasan's 152 total moved him up to a tie for 47th place.
In the team standings, San Jose State heads into the final round at the North Ranch Country Club in tenth place, two spots lower than when the Spartans began the day. San Jose State made the biggest move up the leaderboard during its first nine holes rising to fourth place with a four-under par team score and was at even par for the tournament. The Spartans stayed four-under as a team for the day through the 12th hole, but was one of the teams that struggled for its final six holes as course conditions changed.
"If we show some grit and weather the storm, so to speak, we could come out in very good shape. We've got to play the course and we can't try to make the course fit us. That's part of the learning process," said San Jose State men's golf coach John Kennaday looking ahead to the final round.
As a team, San Jose State posted a 297 team score for a 589 total. Carl Corpus and Kristopher Stiles, 75's and Nick Watts' 76 with Murata's 71 counted to the round two team score.
No. 3-ranked Arizona State moved into first place at 558. Host Pepperdine is second at 564. First-round leader Georgia is third at 567. Washington at 569 and UCLA at 577 round out the top-five in the 12-team field.
Trent Phillips, the first round leader, now shares the top spot with UCLA's Devon Bling at eight-under par 136. Travis Wick of Texas is one back at 137.
The Southwestern Invitational concludes with 18 holes on January 26. San Jose State has the morning tee times starting at 7:46 a.m. with Srinivasan playing first with the three other individual entries followed by his teammates beginning with Caleb Shetler at 8:00 a.m. through Murata at 8:56 a.m.
GOLF Channel will provide final round coverage starting with College Golf Central at 1:00 p.m. (PT). At least three hours of live coverage from North Ranch begins at 1:30 p.m. (PT). Live stats will be available at golfstat.com.
43rd Southwestern Invitational men's golf tournament
North Ranch Country Club, Westlake Village, Calif.
Par 72, 6,992 yards
36-hole results
| Team Scores |
|
| 1. Arizona State |
558 |
| 2. Pepperdine |
564 |
| 3. Georgia |
567 |
| 4. Washington |
569 |
| 5. UCLA |
577 |
| 6. San Diego State |
580 |
| 7. Texas |
581 |
| Wake Forest |
581 |
| 9. Southern California |
586 |
| 10. San Jose State |
589 |
| 11. UNLV |
603 |
| SMU |
603 |
| Leading individuals |
|
| 1. Devon Bling, UCLA |
67-69-136 |
| Trent Phillips, Georgia |
66-70-136 |
| 3. Travis Vick, Texas |
70-67-137 |
| 4. Cameron Sisk, Arizona State |
71-67-138 |
| 5. Teddy Lin, Washington |
70-69-139 |
| San Jose State scores |
|
| 16. Kotaro Murata |
72-71-143 |
| 35. Carl Corpus |
73-75-148 |
| 35. Kristopher Stiles |
73-75-148 |
| 47. Vijay Srinivasan (ind.) |
80-72-152 |
| 55. Nick Watts |
79-76-155 |
| 57. Caleb Shetler |
74-82-156 |
| (ind.) – played as an individual entry |
|
