WINDERMERE, FL – Cal (279-290 – 569, -7) extended its lead to nine shots and true freshman Collin Morikawa (67-70 – 137, -7) stayed atop the player leaderboard by one stroke at the end of second-round action Monday at the prestigious Tavistock Collegiate Invitational being co-hosted by Texas Tech and UCF at the par-72, 7544-yard Isleworth Golf & Country Club.
Cal is the tournament's only team in the red after 36 holes following the second-best team score of the day on Monday that extended what had been a five-stroke advantage on the field after the opening round to its current nine-stroke lead.
“It's pretty safe to say that it's getting serious,” head coach Steve Desimone said. ““It's nice to know that we extended our lead today but the reality is given the challenging conditions things could change fairly quickly. We were able to handle the wind conditions today light years better than anything we've done so far this year, and that certainly bodes well for the future.”
“You could certainly make a case that we played better today than we did yesterday,” Desimone added. “The conditions were extremely challenging today on a very difficult golf course. We watched one great team after another implode but there we were just following the game plan and doing so many things right. It's pretty amazing that not only are we the only team in red numbers but we are pretty deep in red numbers.”
Morikawa led the effort by equaling the best individual score of the day with his two-under par 70 that featured five birdies on three par-four holes (1, 8, 16), a par-three (11) and a par-five (7) to run his two-day tournament total to 13. He birdied the first, seventh and eighth holes for the second consecutive round. The five birdies helped him make up for his second double bogey of the tournament on the par-four 12th that he birdied in Sunday's opening round as well as a bogey on the par-four fourth.
“My wedge game and putting have been very strong the last couple of days,” Morikawa told Golfweek. “I've made a lot of putts inside 10 and 15 feet. When my short game is working well, it's a big boost.”
“That kid can play, and I'm sure glad we have them,” Desimone added.
Shotaro Ban (69-74 – 143, -1) stayed in the red for the tournament and within striking distance of the top in sixth place by playing the back nine in one-under par after a two-over par front. Ban finished the round with four birdies (8, 11, 13, 17) including three on the back nine, four bogeys (4, 9, 16, 18) and one double bogey (6).
KK Limbhasut, who has been Cal's top finisher in each of his first three events in 2015-16, moved up seven spots into a tie for 13th despite a double bogey on the par-four 18th. He had previously made a total of four birdies, twice in back-to-back fashion (7, 8, 15, 16), and two bogeys (6, 11).
Sebastian Crampton inched up one spot into a tie for 19th after his two-over par-round. Crampton had been one-under par through 14 holes before three consecutive bogeys on the par-three 15th, par-four 16th and par-five 17th. He had also bogeyed the par-four eighth and 12th earlier in the round while picking up birdies on the par-five seventh, par-four 10th and par-five 13th.
Walker Huddy (70-81 – 151, +7) began the day tied for sixth but finished tied for 45th after his difficult nine-over par round that included a triple-bogey seven on the par-four 16th two holes after a double-bogey six on the par-four 14th. He also had six bogeys (2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 18) and two birdies (5, 12).
The 54-hole event concludes with third and final round action Tuesday with the first tee time at 8 am ET/5 am PT. Cal will start final-round at 9:40 am ET/6:40 am PT and golf in threesomes with players from second-place Illinois (286-292 – 578, +2) and third-place Arizona State (285-294 – 579, +3).
Cal is making its fourth all-time appearance at prestigious event and has won once previously in 2013. The Bears are also looking for their third victory this fall and second in a row after winning two of its first four tournaments including their own Alister MacKenzie Invitational for the seventh consecutive season last Monday-Tuesday.
“If we just play a good solid round tomorrow I like our chances,” Desimone said. “We certainly like the position we're in, but we know that we've got a really tough day tomorrow.”
TAVISTOCK COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL (CO-HOSTED BY TEXAS TECH AND UCF)
WINDERMERE, FL
ISLEWORTH GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB (PAR 72, 7544 YARDS)
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
1. Cal (279-290 – 569, -7)
2. Illinois (286-292 – 578, +2)
3. Arizona State (285-294 – 579, +3)
4. North Florida (290-293 – 583, +7)
5. Vanderbilt (290-294 – 584, +8)
6. North Carolina (287-301 – 588, +12)
7. Texas Tech (293-296 – 589, +13)
8. Florida (303-289 – 592, +16)
T9. South Carolina (284-310 – 594, +18)
T9. Augusta (298-296 – 594, +18)
11. Ohio State (296-304 – 600, +24)
12. UNLV (298-306 – 604, +28)
13. New Mexico (307-304 – 611, +35)
14. UCF (304-309 – 613, +37)
15. Washington State (307-312 – 619, +43)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
1. Collin Morikawa – Cal (67-70 – 137, -7)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
1. Collin Morikawa (67-70 – 137, -7)
6. Shotaro Ban (69-74 – 143, -1)
T13. KK Limbhasut (73-72 – 145, +1)
T19. Sebastian Crampton (73-74 – 147, +3)
T45. Walker Huddy (70-81 – 151, +7)
