Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Western Intercollegiate
Spartans Lead Western Intercollegiate By 14 Strokes After 36 Holes
3/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 26, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. - With three Spartans currently sitting in the top 10, the Michigan State men's golf team jumped out to a 14 stroke lead after today's initial 36 holes of the Western Intercollegiate at the Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz, Calif. The Spartans, ranked No. 22 by Golfweek, began the day with a four-over 284 in the opening round and followed that up with a three-over 283, to lead St. Mary's (Calif.) by 14 strokes.
"Our guys played well," said MSU head coach Sam Puryear. "The course is in fantastic shape. San Jose State has done an unbelievable job preparing the tournament. We have a great field and an incredible golf course. We're excited. We feel fortunate to be leading after the first day. We could still be better. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Sophomore Jack Newman leads the Spartans at four-under 136 (69-67), one stroke behind Mike McRae of St. Mary's (Calif.). Newman began with a one-under 69 in the first round, posting three birdies, and matched those three birdies in the second round, but had an error free card for a three-under 67. Newman did not have a bogey over his final 26 holes and played the par threes at two-under.
Freshman Payne Griewek is right behind Newman on the leaderboard, in third at one-over 141 (72-69). Griewek posted four birdies in each round, but was able to limit his bogeys in the second round to lead to his one-under 69. Rounding out the three Spartans in the top-10, junior Randy Hutchison is alone in 10th at five-over 145 (72-73). He carded the lone eagle for MSU today on the par-five 13th hole in his opening round, and would add five birdies over Wednesday's 36 holes. Both Griewek and Hutchison played the par fives at two-under today.
Senior Ryan Brehm shot identical rounds of four-over 74 to sit in a tie for 20th. Brehm had eight birdies and played the par fives are two-under, but was inconsistent throughout the day, despite his consistent scores. Also, competing today for the Spartans was freshman Graham Baillargeon, who is tied for 28th at nine-over 149 (71-78).
Trailing MSU and St. Mary's (Calif.) in the 16 school field is California (25-over), Colorado (26-over) and UC-Irvine (27-over).
Thursday's final 18 holes are scheduled to tee off with a 11 a.m. ET shotgun start. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
