Lundell in first after second round at Western Intercollegiate

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Carson Lundell moved into first place in the individual standings with a second-round score of 4-under 66 as BYU men’s golf continued play at 74th Annual Western Intercollegiate at historic Pasatiempo Golf Club on Tuesday.

“Carson is playing some great golf this week,” said head coach Bruce Brockbank. “It will be a great experience for him to play with the lead tomorrow.”

Lundell leads the field of 90 individuals after carding three birdies and an eagle on the front nine and two birdies on the back. His 66 on Tuesday ties Lundell’s season-best single round score and gives him a 36-hole total of 134 (-6).

RJ Manke and Dylan Menante of No. 7 Pepperdine and Stanford’s Karl Vilips are in a three-way tie for second at 138 (-2), four shots behind Lundell.

Kelton Hirsch followed his first round 69 with a second round 73 leaving him tied for 13th at 142 (+2) with 18 holes to play.

“Kelton played solid again today,” said Brockbank. “If he can get the speed right on his putting, he could have another great round tomorrow.”

Keanu Akina rebounded from a triple bogey on the 11th hole Tuesday with three-straight birdies on his way to an even-par 70, improving his first-round score by four shots. 

“Keanu was so clutch today,” said Brockbank. “He showed some serious maturity to fire those birdies after a tough hole.”

David Timmins at 71 and Cole Ponich at 70 each improved their scores on Tuesday over their first-round scores from Monday, while Max Brenchley rounded-out BYU’s scoring with a 77.

Overall the Cougars improved by 11 shots in the second round and are now in fourth place with a two-round score of 361-350—711. WCC foe Pepperdine leads the field of 13 teams with a two-round total of 702. Washington is second at 708, followed by Stanford in third at 710.

“If we can get rid of the big numbers and keep making birdies we could have our best round tomorrow. That would be a big boost for this team.”

Follow the Cougars in the final round of the Western Intercollegiate beginning Wednesday at 8 a.m. PDT, with live coverage from the Golf Channel beginning at 1 p.m. PDT.

Live stats are also available through Golfstat.