USC
2011 NCAA Regional
Trojans Keep Lead After NCAA Regional 2nd Round
May 20, 2011 | Men's Golf
May 20, 2011
Results at Golfstat.com
The No. 15 USC men's golf team, led by 1-under rounds from junior Steve Lim and sophomore Martin Trainer, maintained a comfortable first-place lead after the second round of the 2011 NCAA San Diego Regional on Friday (May 20) at The Farmers G.C. in Rancho Sante Fe, Calif.
The San Diego region is one of six 13 and 14-team sites. The top five teams from each region will advance to the NCAA Championship final, scheduled for May 31-June 5 at Karsten Creek in Stillwaker, Okla. Oklahoma State is the host for the final.
USC, the No. 3 seed in the 13-team regional, wasn't as sharp overall as Thursday but its solid 2-over second round left it at 8-under 568 (278-290) after 36 holes, four strokes better than second-place UCLA (572).
Ohio State is third (579) and SMU is fourth (583). The Trojans are 16 strokes better than fifth-place San Diego and Texas, giving USC a nice cushion as it works to qualify for the NCAA Championship final for the fifth time in a row, all under fifth-year head coach Chris Zambri.
"We're in a great position going into the final round. Everyone in the lineup has made a contribution to our total," Zambri said. "We are looking forward to tomorrow."
Lim took over second place at 5-under 139 (68-71), three strokes out of first. He opened with a pair of birdies on 1 and 3. Be had two bogeys and one birdie on the back 9 for his 1-under second round.
First-round leader Jeffrey Kang, a freshman, gave up some strokes Friday, but is still tied for fifth overall at 2-under 142 (66-76). A day after an eight-birdie performance, he only had one today, but it came on 18 to finish on a high note.
Trainer moved into a tie for 15th at even 144 (73-71) after his sub-par round. He was 1-over on the opening 9 but used birdies on 12, 13 and 15 to get to 2-under before a bogey on 17.
Sophomore T.J. Vogel is tied for 36th at 4-over 148 (71-77) while sophomore Sam Smith is tied for 49th at 6-over 150 (78-72). Smith opened at 5-under through 11 holes, including an eagle on the par 4 11th. He encountered some struggles as he closed his round but finished with a birdie on 18.
The Trojans, who are coming off a playoff win at the 2011 Pac-10 Championships, are seeking their fifth straight top 3 finish in a row.
Action concludes Saturday, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Players Mentioned
