Bulldogs Battling Strong Field In Husky Golf Tournament
9/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Sept. 20, 2010
AUBURN, Wash. - Playing against some of the strongest competition in the country, Gonzaga University's men's golf team fought back from a slow start to post a 292 second round Monday in the Kikkor Golf Husky Invitational hosted by the University of Washington.
The Bulldogs shot a 36-hole score of 599 which still leaves them last in the 14-team field but in position to move up in Tuesday's final 18 holes.
Travis Johnsen shot the best round of the day for the Bulldogs with a second-round 69 over the 7,304-yard, par 72 Washington National Golf Club in Auburn. Senior Kyle Huus had a second-round 73, freshman Peter Gullickson an opening-round 74 and senior Francis Santiago a second-round 74. Johnsen is tied for 25th entering Tuesday's final round.
Six ranked teams dot the field, led by top-ranked University of Oregon, third-ranked Texas A&M University, the fifth-ranked Huskies, 21st ranked Oregon State University, 30th ranked San Diego State University and 34th ranked Pepperdine University.
Pepperdine holds the 36-hole lead at 566 for a 12-shot lead over SDSU.
Josh Anderson of Pepperdine is the leader after 36 holes after rounds of 70-68 for a 138 for a 3-shot lead over a trio of golfers.
The recent rain that has blanketed the state left the course slow.
"Because the course was so wet, there was zero roll on the tee shots and that made the course play very, very long on a course that was set up over 7,200 yards," Gonzaga head coach Robert Gray said.
Gray was pleased with the way the Bulldogs came back in the second round, a scenario the Bulldogs endured in the fall opener last week.
"We got off to a slow start the first round but, like last week, we bounced back the second round and posted a decent score under the conditions. This is the strongest field we've played in for quite a while and the team stepped up and kept themselves in reach of some good programs," Gray said.
The Bulldogs are within striking range of three teams - Brigham Young University at 594, Washington State University at 595 and Fresno State University at 597. BYU joins the West Coast Conference next year.
"Tomorrow we have the opportunity to move ahead of three teams, but we need to improve on what we accomplished our second round today," Gray said.
Johnsen, a sophomore from Wilsonville, Ore., continued his strong early-season play, and Gray said he got some solid efforts from everybody.
"Travis continued his strong, consistent play from last week. He was 5-under at one point. Kyle and Francis played solid second rounds and have been strong leaders with the younger guys this fall. I'm pleased with how Peter is progressing. He's still learning the ropes, but he's adapting well.
Oliver Grabb shot 80-83, but Gray said he is showing improvement.
"Despite his scores, Oliver is improving in a lot of areas each week. The big numbers hurt him today. He only missed a few shots the first round but when he did, they ended up really hurting him. Sometimes the misses don't hurt much and sometimes they do. It'll turn around for him," Gray said.
Overall Gray was "pleased with how we handled everything today. The guys showed up to compete and as we play these tournaments with such strong fields, that's what we need to do."
