Cougs Head into the Final Round of the Visit Stockton Invitational in First Place

STOCKTON, Calif. – The Washington State men's team had another strong performance in the second round of the 2021 Visit Stockton Invitational on Friday, Oct. 22, as the Cougars shot 10-under par, 274 to push their lead to four strokes heading into Saturday's final round.

Three Cougars sit in a tie for fifth place on the player leaderboard heading into the final round of play at the Visit Stockton Invitational, as redshirt senior Max Sekulic and sophomores Jaden Cantafio and Preston Bebich have each carded 7-under par, 135 through the tournament's first two rounds. All three WSU golfers shot under par in Friday's second round, led by Cantafio, who carded a personal-best 6-under par, 65.

That performance puts Cantafio in a tie for the sixth-lowest single-round score in program history. He also becomes the second Cougar to card 6-under in a round at the 2021 Visit Stockton Invitational, as junior Pono Yanagi also shot 6-under, 65 in Thursday's first round, which has now happened a total of 18 times in program history.

Washington State shaved 10 strokes off its team score in the second round, as the Cougars ended the day with a second-round team score of 274 (-10). The Cougs take a four-stroke lead over second-place San Jose State and a five-stroke lead over third-place BYU heading into Saturday's final round. WSU has collected a tournament-best 50 birdies through two rounds, while the Cougars also lead the tournament in par-4 scoring at 3-under. The Cougars have also posted the second-best score par-5 score through 36 holes of play at the Stockton Country Club, as Washington State has shot -20 as a team on par 5 holes.

A day after having four golfers card under pair in the first round, WSU had three golfers accomplish the feat in the second round. Cantafio's 6-under par, 65 led the way for the Cougars on Friday. Sekulic was three strokes off from the Cantafio's pace, as he shot 3-under par, 68 to post his second-straight under-par round at the tournament.

Bebich also ended under-par for the second-consecutive round, as he ended his day at 2-under, 69. The sophomore from Gig Harbor, Washington currently has the second-best par 4 score in the tournament, as he is currently shooting -4.

Junior Pono Yanagi ended the second round at 1-over par, 72 to conclude the day in a tie for 13th overall on the player leaderboard. Meanwhile, freshman Franklin Lydra completed the second round of the Visit Stockton Invitational at 4-over par, 75 and will begin the final round in a tie for 74th overall.

Utah's Javier Barcos sits atop the player leaderboard after 36 holes of play at the Visit Stockton Invitational, as he has carded 13-under, 129. Bebich, Cantafio and Sekulic open Saturday's third round six strokes off Barcos' pace.

The third and final round of the Visit Stockton Invitational will take place this Saturday, Oct. 23. Washington State's third-round tee-time is set for 9:15 a.m. PT.

For more information on the Washington State men's golf team, follow @WSUCougarMGolf