By BILL O’REAR
Tribune-Herald sports editor
Grand Canyon University rode the strong play of Marcus Synegal and Ryan Mahoney to build a nine-shot lead after two rounds of the 2012 Pacific West Conference Men’s Golf Championships on Monday.
The two-day, three-round NCAA Division II tournament is being played at the par 72 Waikoloa Kings Course. The final round will be held today with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Grand Canyon carded a 289 in the first round Monday, then closed with a 283 in the afternoon round for a 572 total — nine strokes ahead of defending PacWest champion Hawaii-Hilo (291-290) and Dixie State (286-295) who were tied for second at 581.
Brigham Young University-Hawaii’s Jon Scolari (69-70) was the individual leader with a 5-under-par 139. He was the only player to shoot back-to-back subpar rounds in an impressive performance.
Synegal (72-70) and Mahoney (74-68) were tied for second place along with two other players with 142s. But they got a solid boost from their teammates to help the Antelopes jump to the top of the team leaderboard. Brandon Moore (72-71—143, Tie-6th), Mark Geddes (71-74—145, T-9th) and Alec Dalhquist (81-80—161, T-41st) round out the five-player scoring for the team from Phoenix, Ariz.
Chris Shimomura (76-68—144, 8th) and Travis Russell (71-74—145, T-9th) led Hawaii-Hilo. They were followed by teammates Corey Kozuma (72-75—147, T-16), Jamie Hall (73-75—148, T-19th) and Dalen Yamauchi (75-73—148, T-19th).
Dixie State had three players in the top 10 — with Kyle Chappell (69-76), Nick Drost (73-72) and David Cunningham (72-73) all tied for ninth with 145s. Teammates Hayden Christensen (72-79) and Matthew Brereton (77-74) were tied for 25th with 151s.
California Baptist (297-293) was fourth at 590, Hawaii Pacific University (302-290) fifth at 592 and BYU-Hawaii (298-297) sixth at 595. Rounding out the team scoring were: 7. Academy of Art, 600; 8. Notre Dame de Namur, 603; 9. Dominican College, 638; and 10. Chaminade, 729.
California Baptist’s Steven Watson (69-73) and Academy of Art’s Stuart Favretto (76-66) were tied with Grand Canyon’s Synegal and Mahoney for second place overall at 142. Favretto had the lone round of the day with his 6-under 66 in Round 2.
The first two rounds were played under overcast skies and with a cool breeze. But the winds came and went, with an occasional wind reaching between 10 to 20 miles per hour that impacted play.
After today’s tournament wrap up, some of the PacWest teams will go on to compete in the Super Regional, May 6-9 in Phoenix, Ariz. Grand Canyon is the host school for the event with the top teams advancing to the NCAA D-II National Championships, May 13-18 in Simpsonville, Kentucky.
Hawaiian Airlines is the sponsor for the 2012 PacWest Men’s Golf Championships. Hawaii-Hilo is the host school, under men’s head coach Earl Tamiya.
TOURNAMENT SCORING
By Collegiate Scoring
System Golfstat.com
1. Grand Canyon Univ. 289-283—572
T 2 Marcus Synegal 72 70 142
T 2 Ryan Mahoney 74 68 142
T 6 Brandon Moore 72 71 143
T 9 Mark Geddes 71 74 145
41 Alec Dalhquist 81 80 161
T-2. Hawaii-Hilo 291-290—581
8 Chris Shimomura 76 68 144
T 9 Travis Russell 71 74 145
T 16 Corey Kozuma 72 75 147
T 19 James Hall 73 75 148
T 19 Dalen Yamauchi 75 73 148
T-2. Dixie State (Utah) 286-295—581
T 9 Kyle Chappell 69 76 145
T 9 Nick Drost 73 72 145
T 9 David Cunningham 72 73 145
T 25 Hayden Christensen 72 79 151
T 25 Matthew Brereton 77 74 151
4. California Baptist 297-293—590
T 2 Steven Watson 69 73 142
T 16 Leonard Rooney 75 72 147
T 22 Tim Tait 77 73 150
T 25 Micah Machado 76 75 151
30 Fredrik Hannson 77 75 152
5. Hawaii Pacific Univ. 302-290—592
T 6 Ian Boat 74 69 143
T 19 James Fawssett 73 75 148
T 25 Travis Miller 78 73 151
T 31 Andy Rodby 80 73 153
36 Harry Chang 77 79 156
6. BYU-Hawaii 298-297—595
1 Jon Scolari 69 70 139
T 14 Remington Schultz 73 73 146
T 33 Scott Pickering 77 77 154
T 37 Colten Lamb 80 77 157
40 Alex Stulce 79 80 159
7. Academy of Art Univ. 309-291—600
T 2 Stuart Favretto 76 66 142
T 22 Alberto Esponda 74 76 150
T 33 Sean Etow 81 73 154
T 33 Cody Moore 78 76 154
43 Tom Krepp 82 82 164
8. Notre Dame de Namur 294-309—603
T 16 Troy Davis 68 79 147
T 22 Mike Lyons 72 78 150
T 25 Brandon Van Goethen 74 77 151
T 37 Aaron Tom 82 75 157
42 Kris Bernard 80 82 162
9. Dominican (Calif.) 322-316—638
T 14 Kevin Santos 75 71 146
T 31 Sean Nadir 75 78 153
44 Sean Kawaguchi 86 83 169
45 Tom Morris 86 84 170
T 46 John DeDonatis 89 91 180
10. Chaminade University 377-352—729
T 37 Jordan Oda 82 75 157
T 46 Travis Ebesu 91 89 180
48 Tyson Omura 95 93 188
49 Matt Cousins 109 95 204
50 Casey Oldemoppen 123 118 241
