Nov. 9, 2010
SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Northwestern made a late charge Tuesday during the second round of the Gifford Collegiate Championship at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif., playing its final four holes of the day in a combined six-under par to remain in fourth-place in the strong 12-team field.
Northwestern fired a 5-over 360, an 11-shot improvement over its first round score to currently stand in fourth place a 21-over 731 (371-360). NU is two shots behind third-place No. 26 USC and four shots in back of second-place No. 3 UCLA. No. 16 Stanford leads with a 36-hole total of 6-over 716 after a blazing 7-under 348 Tuesday. The Wildcats lead fifth-place No. 25 Washington by three shots.
For the second-straight day, Northwestern teed off the back nine Tuesday at the Gifford Collegiate, which consists of six-person lineups and five scorers for each team. Typical collegiate events feature five-person lineups with the top four scorers for each school counting toward the team total. The only players to buck the trend of strong finishes Tuesday for the 'Cats were the two playing best throughout the rest of the day.
Playing as the 30th-ranked individual in the nation according to Golfstat.com, senior David Lipsky (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) slipped from fifth to seventh place individually after an even-par 71 Tuesday. Lipsky made two birdies and two bogeys on both the front and back nines, with the final bogey coming on No. 7 after a birdie at No. 6. Lipsky's 36-hole total is 1-over 143 (72-71).
Freshman Jack Perry (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) had quite an eventful day, finishing up at 2-over 73 after a red-hot start to the front nine had him seeing red. Perry shot a 3-over 38 on the back nine with the help of a double-bogey on No. 17, but he then made four birdies (and one bogey) on the first six holes of the front side to get back to even par. A double-bogey six on No. 8 left him with a 1-under 35 on the front and a 73 for the day. Combined with his opening-round 5-over 76, Perry is in 31st position at 7-over 149 (76-73).
Junior Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School) was 2-over par following his first six holes of the second round, but birdies at Nos. 16 and 18 gave him an even-par 35 on the back nine. He briefly found red numbers after a birdie at the 185-yard, par 3 second (which he bogeyed on Monday), but three-straight bogeys on Nos. 3, 4 and 5 put Chun at 2-over. He recovered with two-straight birdies to conclude his day at even-par, placing him ninth in the standings with a 2-over 144 (73-71).
Sophomore Nick Losole (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Notre Dame) also recovered for an even-par round Tuesday. He began his second round with an immediate birdie at No. 10, but double bogeys at Nos. 12 and 14 led to a 3-over 38 on his first nine. Losole carded pars on each of the first five holes on the front nine before ripping off three-straight birdies at Nos. 6, 7 and 8 for his even-par 71. He stands in 13th position at 4-over 146 (75-71) as an individual.
Senior Josh Dupont (Poway, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) book-ended a string of four bogeys in five holes early on in his second round with birdies at Nos. 10 and 16 for a 2-over 37 on the back nine. After a double-bogey at No. 5 put him at 4-over par, he also made birdie at No. 8 for a 3-over 74 and a 36-hole total of 8-over 150 (76-74), good for 38th as an individual.
Though his score did not count toward the team total on Tuesday, freshman Brad Shigezawa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahoe) also had a strong finish. He made three bogeys on the back nine for a 3-over 38 going out, eventually getting to 5-over par through 14 holes. He played his final four holes in 1-under par with two birdies to finish at 4-over 75 in the round and 8-over 150 (75-75) in the tournament to join Dupont in 38th place.
Round three of the three-day Gifford Collegiate takes place tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 9. Live stats are available at Golfstat.com.
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