Leave it to a group of Sun Devils to bask in the warm rays of the Kohala Coast.
With David Puig charging and Blake Wagoner holding steady Wednesday, Arizona State held half of the top eight spots heading to the final round of the Amer Ari Intercollegiate at Hapuna Golf Course.
The second-round leaderboard did not include Hawaii freshman Isaiah Kanno. The former Waiakea standout endured an up-and-down front nine – an eagle, three birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey – to make the turn at 7-under, but the roller-coaster round went downhill in a hurry starting with a sextuple-bogey – a 10 on the par-4 No. 12 – amid blistery conditions. He finished with a 13-under 85 and was 8-over and in a tie for 32nd after 36 holes.
In an otherwise forgettable day for UH-Hilo, Dustin Franco carded a 77 and was the top golfer for either the Vulcans or Rainbow Warriors at 7-over.
Arizona State, the highest-ranked team in the field, recorded another 275 to vault into the lead, eight shots ahead of Southern California. First-round leader Georgia Tech was 24 strokes off the pace.
Puig, Golfweek’s top-ranked collegiate, birdied the first four holes and then went par for the rest of the course for a 68 that tied three others for the low round of the day. He trailed Wagoner (71), who got to 10-under, by a stroke. Arizona State’s Cameron Sisk and (69) and USC’s Sixian Guo (68) were another stroke back, and a group of four tied for fifth at 5-under included another Sun Devil, Ryggs Johnston (68). Of the 51 players in the field, 14 were under par, including all six Arizona State golfers.
Andrew Otani (79) was the only other Vulcan golfer to break 80, UHH freshman Nicholas Gomez (87) was another five shots back at 18-over. Ethan Hironaga (84) was 20-over, Noah Lau (88) 23-over and Willis Lee (89) came in 35-over.
The Vulcans (61-over 637) were last in the eight-team field, 11 strokes behind Rainbow Warriors. Kotaro Murata’s 77 was the best round for UH and he was 9-over.