Men’s Golf Concludes Spring’s Opening Day

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TUCSON, Ariz. – The Oregon State men’s golf team opened its spring season at the Arizona Intercollegiate on Monday, and although the Beavers didn’t play their best on the 36-hole day, they still have one more round to move up the leaderboard.

The Beavers shot a 34-over 303-299--602 at the par-71, 7,262-yard Sewailo Golf Club on Monday and sit in 11th place in the 14-team field with the final round of the two-day, 54-hole tournament slated for Tuesday. USC and California were the only teams to finish in red figures on the tough layout, as the Trojans are first with a 4-under 564 and the Golden Bears are two strokes back with a 2-under 566.

“Sometimes you play well and simply get beat and sometimes you simply just beat yourself. Today was the definition of doing everything we could to stop ourselves from having any kind of success,” Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn said. “We need to respond in a positive way tomorrow to give us something positive to take to Hawai’i.”

Junior Alex Franklin, who made his debut with Oregon State this past fall, had the best day for the Beavers as he posted a 4-over 74-72--146, which puts him in a tie for 19th place on the individual leaderboard. He had two birdies, three bogeys and a double in the morning and bounced back with two more birdies, 15 pars and a triple in the afternoon.

Freshman Kevin Murphy is tied for 28th overall after carding a 7-over 73-76--149 that included a birdie and three bogeys in the first round and two birdies and seven bogeys in the second. Senior David Fink surprisingly shot an 8-over 79 in the morning before rallying back with a 4-over 75 in the afternoon to finish with a 12-over 154 for a tie for 55th place.

“David had an off day, and when that happens, we need the other guys to pick him up,” Reehoorn said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find anyone to do that yet this year. Our poor play is my responsibility. We will get it fixed for tomorrow and make sure we are better moving forward.”

Sophomore Brian Jung finished with a 13-over 77-78--155 to put him in a tie for 60th place and freshman Conner Kumpula was a stroke back with a 14-over 80-76--156 for a tie for 63rd.

Anthony Paolucci of USC holds the clubhouse lead after firing a 7-under 65-70--135, while California’s Brandon Hagy is second with a 5-under 69-68--137 and Kolton Lapa of Arizona is third with a 2-under 71-69--140.

The final round begins with a shotgun start at 7 a.m. PT (8 a.m. MT) on Tuesday.