GOLF | Gaels Within Reach of First After Two Rounds at WCC Championship

Saint Mary's is in fourth after 36 holes and trail USF by 11 strokes going into the final round but Friday proved that it is still anyone's tournament.

STOCKTON, Calif. — Increased wind conditions hampered the Gaels and most of the field during the second round of the WCC Championship on Friday as only two teams shot below par on the day.

THE LEADERBOARD
Saint Mary's fell one spot to fourth place with 18 holes to play after a 5-over performance on Friday to bring their two-round total to even. The biggest surprise of the day came from the Pepperdine Waves who jumped from seventh to second by shooting 10-under in the middle round. San Francisco still maintains the team lead at 11-under, two strokes ahead of the Waves, and BYU is currently third at 3-under.

Giving Saint Mary's hope is the fact that over half of the field shot at least 7-over for the day, including the Cougars. The tournament leading Dons were also 17 strokes worse from their first round, finishing 3-over on Friday. Pacific was the only other school to shot under par in the middle round with a 2-under total.

The Gaels own a five stroke advantage over fifth-place Loyola Marymount heading into Saturday. SMC has finished fourth or better at the WCC Championship each of the past eight seasons.

Ethan Farnam had the best round of the day for Saint Mary's with a steady even score. The sophomore had three birdies and was 1-under on the front 9.

Blake Hathcoat improved by two strokes from yesterday with a 1-over total while Ryan Grauman, Ethan Ashbrook, and Michael Slesinski all shot 2-over. Farnam and Grauman are both tied for ninth at 1-under after two rounds.

Pepperdine's Joshua McCarthy shot 6-under in the second round to move into first on the medalist leaderboard. BYU's Peter Kuest and Gonzaga's Chris Mogg trail closely by just two strokes.

SECOND ROUND HIGHLIGHTS

Slesinski had an eagle on sixth, the team's first of the tournament.
Grauman fought back from a tough front nine to shoot 2-under on the last nine holes.
Ashbrook is tied for fourth with 25 birdies in the tournament.
Grauman is tied for fifth on par 5's with a 5-under total after two rounds.
The Gaels have 111 pars heading into Saturday, second most of the field.

GALLERY

Photos from the round can be found by clicking here.

UP NEXT: FINAL ROUND

The third and final round of the WCC Championship begins tomorrow morning. Hathcoat will start the Gaels off at 8:25 a.m. on the first tee. Fans can follow along to the action by clicking here or by visiting Golfstat.com.

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