PULLMAN, Wash. – ARIZONA STATE jumped to the top of the leaderboard after it posted a team score of 8-under in the third round and moved past second round leader USC to hold a nine-stroke lead over the field entering the final day of competition at the Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championships at Washington State University’s Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman. 

“We played the back nine really well all week and continued to do so today,” said Arizona State coach Tim Mickelson. “With the weather being as good as it was, we were able to make a lot of birdies on the back.”

The Sun Devils are looking for their first Pac-12 Championship since 2008, and according to Mickelson, “It would be a defining moment as to the strength of our team. That’s part of why the Pac-12 goes six, count five, as it shows which team is truly the deepest.”

STANFORD moved up to second as the defending Pac-12 champions shot 4-under in the third round and enter the final round at 6-over. USC, which held the team lead after two rounds at 1-under, dropped into third place and enter the final round at 10-over. 

Stanford sophomore Maverick McNealy extended his lead in the individual competition as he posted a third round score of 2-under 68 and is 9-under (65-68-68—201) for the Championships. McNealy looks to become the third Stanford golfer to win Pac-12 medalist honors over the last four years, joining Andrew Yun (2012) and Patrick Rodgers (2014).
  
CALIFORNIA freshman KK Limbhasut posted a 4-under 66 and is tied for second with OREGON freshman Aaron Wise at 5-under for the Championships, four shots back of McNealy. ARIZONA STATE senior Broc Johnson, who hails from Auburn, Wash., had the low round of the day with a 5-under 65 and moved into a tie for fourth with OREGON STATE senior Alex Franklin at 4-under.
 
The final round of the Pac-12 Championships will be Wednesday with first tee times at 8 a.m. PT.

Day Two Team Results (Par 70, 7,257 yards)
1. Arizona State           354-351-342—1047 (-8)
2. Stanford                   362-348-346—1056 (+6)
3. USC                         355-344-361—1060 (+10)
4. Oregon                     357-360-349—1066 (+16)
5. Washington              363-353-357—1073 (+23)
6. Oregon State            361-357-357—1075 (+25)
T7. Washington State   363-347-366—1076 (+26)
T7. California                369-361-356—1076 (+26)
9. UCLA                        364-358-358—1080 (+30)
10. Arizona                    372-364-359—1095 (+36)
11. Colorado                  374-365-361—1100 (+39)
12. Utah                         382-376-382—1140 (+58)

Day Two Individual Leaders (Par 70, 7,257 yards)
1. Maverick McNealy, STAN            65-68-68—201 (-9)    
T2. K.K. Limbhasut, CAL                  70-69-66—205 (-5)    
T2. Aaron Wise, ORE                       65-70-70—205 (-5)    
T4. Alex Franklin, OSU                     68-67-71—206 (-4)    
T4. Broc Johnson, ASU                    69-72-65—206 (-4)    
6. Michael Anderson, WSU               67-70-70—207 (-3)    
7. Corey Pereira, WASH                   71-69-68—208 (-2)    
T8. Derek Bayley, WSU                    69-65-75—209 (-1)    
T8. George Cunningham, ARIZ        71-70-68—209 (-1)    
T10. Frank Huang, STAN                  73-70-67—210 (E)    
T10. Cheng-Tsung Pan, WASH        70-70-70—210 (E)    
T10. Max Rottluff, ASU                      75-68-67—210 (E)