FRESNO, Calif. — Taylor Knoll shot 69 in the first round and Robert Parden and Aaron Beverly each shot 67 to help set a Sacramento State school record in the second round of the Nick Watney Invitational on Monday at Fort Washington Country Club.
After the Hornets shot an even-par 284 in the first round, the team was 12-under in the afternoon. That score of 272 broke the mark of 274 which was set last season at the Barona Collegiate Cup. Along with the 4-under par rounds from Parden and Beverly, the team also counted 69s from Cody Bates and freshman Landon Azevedo.
That effort helped the Hornets move three spots up the leaderboard and has the team in third place heading into the final round on Tuesday. The Hornets' total of 284-272-556 has the team three strokes off the pace of Saint Mary's and two strokes behind California.
Individually, Parden is seventh with a 36-hole total of 71-67-138. He started play on the 16th hole with a birdie in the first round. After bogeys on the 17th and second holes, he returned to even with a birdie on the par-4 sixth. The junior bogeyed the par-5 ninth before parring five consecutive holes. He ended the first round with a birdie on the par-4 15th to finish even.
In the second round, Parden bogeyed his first two holes before catching fire. He played holes 1-9 at 5-under par and added a sixth birdie on the par-4 13th. The 67 ties his career best which came last season at the Sacramento State Invitational.
Beverly is tied for eighth place after shooting 72-67-139. His first round featured birdies on all three par-5 holes. He also had bogeys on Nos. 13 and 17 and a double bogey on the par-4 first. In the second round, the junior parred his first six holes and remained even through 11 holes with a birdie on the par-3 third and a bogey on the par-4 second. Beverly closed the day with birdies on four of his final seven holes. The 67 is tied for the second lowest of his career.
Knoll played the first round at 2-under par and followed with an even-par 71. His total of 140 places him in a tie for 13th place. He was 2-under through the first eight holes of the opening round with birdies on the par-3 17th and par-4 fourth. However, back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7 returned him to even. He stayed there until birdying the par-3 11th and par-5 12th. In the afternoon, Knoll had three birdies and three bogeys and was never more than 1-over par during the round.
Cody Bates shot 72-69-141 and is tied for 20th place. Knoll was 3-over through his first eight holes of the first round but rallied down the stretch with birdies on the par-5 12th and par-4 15th. In the second round, Bates birdied his first hole (No. 18) and dropped to 2-under with a birdie on the par-4 fifth. Following a bogey on No. 7, he parred his next seven holes. Bates closed with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 and a bogey on the par-3 17th.
Freshman Landon Azevedo made his collegiate debut and is tied for 29th with rounds of 74 and 69. In the morning round, Azevedo had four birdies, four bogeys and a triple bogey on the par-4 sixth. He came back in the afternoon to finish a 2-under with four birdies and just two bogeys.
Junior Connor Day competed as an individual in the tournament and shot 75-70-145. Day had a birdie and five bogeys in the first round. In the second round he had five birdies and four bogeys.
Pavan Sagoo of Saint Mary's is the individual leader after shooting 68-64-132. He holds a 1-stroke lead over San Diego's Alex Chiarella and BYU's Patrick Fishburn.
Nick Watney Invitational
Fresno, Calif. | Fort Washington CC
Par 71 | 6,741 Yards
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Saint Mary's 283-270-553
2. California 275-279-554
3. SACRAMENTO STATE 284-272-556
4. Fresno State 284-276-560
5. Long Beach State 281-283-564
T6. Nevada 288-277-565
T6. BYU 285-280-565
T6. San Diego 285-280-565
9. Columbia 283-286-569
10. Cal Poly 288-284-572
11. Loyola Marymount 284-290-574
12. UC Santa Barbara 283-293-576
13. Pacific 294-288-582
INDIVIDUAL TOP FIVE
1. Pavan Sagoo, SMC, 68-64-132
T2. Alex Chiarella, USD, 69-64-133
T2. Patrick Fishburn, BYU, 66-67-133
T4. Trevor Clayton, FS, 70-66-136
T4. Collin Morikawa, CAL, 67-69-136
SACRAMENTO STATE SCORES
7. Robert Parden 71-67-138
T8. Aaron Beverly 72-67-139
T13. Taylor Knoll 69-71-140
T20. Cody Bates 72-69-141
T29. Landon Azevedo 74-69-143
