If the No. 1 golf team in the country, UNC Charlotte, is to maintain its string of tournament victories, it’s going to have to take long road through Kansas. Kansas State, that is.

The little team that could—ranked No. 80 in the country—continues to hold off 13 other teams in The Stockton Sports Commission Pacific Invitational, presented by Ron Berberian, Bank of Agriculture & Commerce and Berberian European Motors at Brookside Golf and Country Club.

Kansas State’s 29-under par is six strokes ahead of Charlotte, which has not lost this season.
If Kansas State has become the Cinderella for this event, UC-Davis, ranked 93rd, continues to surprise just as much. The Aggies, under Cy Williams, own third place at 20-under par. Host Pacific made a run early in Day II on Brookside’s 6,777-yard course, and finished 9-under, in ninth place.

The No. 1 vs. No. 80 scenario sets up an interesting David vs. Goliath for Wednesday’s final round, with teams teeing off at 8 a.m. “When we get in this situation, it’s exciting,” said Kansas State’s Joe Ida, who had the lowest round of the day at seven-under par 65. “We’re played in a lot of tournaments this fall and it’s all coming together for us.” Ida’s two-day total of 134 is one shot off the lowest two-day total.

That belongs to Charlotte’s Stefan Wiedergruen who shared medalist honors on Day I. He finished with back-to-back biridies for a 67 total to go with his opening day 66. That put him at 133, 23-under par. “The pins were in tougher positions today, and that made things more challenging.”

And catching Kansas State? “I looked up one time and they were nine strokes ahead,” said Ida. “They are playing well and it’s going to take a great effort to catch them.”

Rounding out the top five behind Kansas State, Charlotte and UC-Davis are Oregon, Fresno State. For team and top 10 individual scores, visit pacificinviational.com. For a list of all scores, visit www.golfstat.com.

Notes
Pacific Coach Brandon Goethals, running the tournament and coaching at the same time, was pleased by his team’s 8-under on Day II. “We played more relaxed but we still need to take care of the little things,” he said.
UC-Davis coach Cy Williams on his team’s position. “We’ve had a couple of tournaments where we have played well, but being up there with the big guys, that’s why we practice.”

Putt-of-the Day
Marquette’s Mike Van Sickle shot a six-under par 30 on Brookside’s back nine, including five birdies and an eagle. He made a 100-foot putt on No. 16 for an eagle. “The bad news was a 37 on the front,” said Van Sickle. Within 15 minutes after Van Sickle’s eagle, teammate Kelly Kretz eagled the same hole. Marquette is in sixth place, 14 shots back.