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• Soderstrom: Chappell vying for PoY honors
• Slideshow: Frustration mounting
• Click here for Golfweek's complete postseason coverage

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By RON BALICKI
Senior Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As his team was finishing its first nine holes in Thursday’s second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship, an unhappy Larry Penley made his way to the large scoreboard. He stared at the numbers being posted and did some calculations in his head.

“I was trying to figure out where 28 over par to 32 over might fit (in relation to the 54-hole cut to the low 15 teams),” said Penley, whose Clemson team was 24 over and in 15th place at the time. “We were doing some fast back pedaling and it was just making me sick.”

Unlike basketball, a coach can’t send in five fresh faces hoping to turn things around in the second half. But if one didn’t know better, it looked as if Penley had indeed replaced his whole squad.

Starting on the 10th hole, the Tigers played their first nine holes in 11 over, counting five double bogeys in that stretch. But in one of the tournament’s most improbable single-day turnarounds, Clemson played the front nine in 11 under, not counting a single bogey.

With an even-par 288, Clemson surged into the lead with a 13-over 589 total at the midway point at the long (7,450 yards), rough-laden Kampen Course at Purdue’s Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.

“It was pretty amazing,” a smiling Penley said after the round. “It was definitely two different teams out there. I wish I knew what happened to cause that kind of a turnaround. All I know is after nine holes I was so mad I could spit nails. And now, I’m a happy as can be.”

First-round co-leaders UCLA and USC were close behind Clemson after an ideal morning for golf. The Bruins (293) stand at 14-over 590, while the Trojans (294) are at 591.

“I’m very pleased with where we are right now,” said UCLA coach Derek Freeman. “We played good golf today, but just made a few mental errors. As along as we can stay patient and continue playing like we are, we should be fine.”

Said USC coach Chris Zambri, “We didn’t have the wind like we did yesterday, but this is still a very tough golf course. We have five guys who at contributing and that’s what you want. There’s still two rounds to go, but I feel we’re in a good position.”

Florida junior Billy Horschel, a two-time first-team All-American who has struggled this season, shot a 67 and stands at 5-under 139, one shot better than his playing partner, Clemson sophomore Kyle Stanley, who shot 68 and is at 140.

Washington sophomore Nick Taylor had the tournament’s best round in the afternoon with a 6-under 66 to follow his opening 75 and is third at 3-under 141. Taylor won the 2007 Canadian Amateur.

First-round leader Kevin Chappell of UCLA was the front-runner most of the day, but made double bogey on his final hole for a 73 and is tied for third at 2-under 142 with Georgia’s Hudson Swafford, who had a 69.

David May and Sam Saunders got the Clemson front-nine charge kicked off with birdies on the first hole. Stanley birdied No. 2 and, along with Phillip Mollica, birdied No. 4. Stanley added birdies at Nos. 6 and 7 and Mollica eagled No. 6 and birdied No. 8 before Saunders finished it off with a birdie at the ninth.

“We were very discouraged at the turn to say the least,” said Penley, who guided Clemson to the 2003 NCAA title. “We could have easily kept going backwards. Give these guys credit. They got extremely focused. It was gut-check time and they came through.

“It goes to show you that you just never know. You have to keep plugging and never give up. You have to keep believing in yourself and that you can do it. Today they did it. Those last nine holes, now that was fun to watch.”

Horschel’s round, his second best this season, consisted of seven birdies and a pair of bogeys. Stanley notched six birdies against a double bogey at the 12th hole, while Taylor had seven birdies with just a lone bogey. Starting on the back nine, Taylor made five birdies en route to a 31 and then birdied Nos. 1 and 2 to go 7-under on the day. His bogey came at the par-3 fifth hole.

“Putting was the key without a doubt,” said Horschel. “My ball-striking has been unbelievable all spring but I’ve been battling with my putter. It was getting so frustrating because everyone I’d see the first thing they’d ask me would be about my putting.

“I had 25 putts today and usually I’ve been in the 30s somewhere,” said Horschel, who helped lead the U.S. to victory last year in the Walker Cup. “Having a round like this does a lot for my confidence and hopefully I can build off it the next two days.”

Following Friday’s third round, the starting field of 30 teams and six individuals will be cut to the low 15 teams and six individuals who are not members of those teams. Ties for the final spots will be broken via playoffs.

• • •

Ron Balicki is a Golfweek senior writer. To reach him e-mail rbalicki@golfweek.com.

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Scores with relation to par from the second round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship, played May 29 at the par-72, 7,450-yard Kampen Course at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. (Note: y-played as individual):

TEAMS
1. Clemson	301-288--589	+	13
2. UCLA	297-293--590	+	14
3. USC	297-294--591	+	15
4. Florida	302-291--593	+	17
5. Oklahoma St.	298-296--594	+	18
6. Washington	305-290--595	+	19
7. Georgia	303-293--596	+	20
8. Stanford	309-288--597	+	21
9. Kent St.	301-297--598	+	22
10. Charlotte	306-295--601	+	25
11. Middle Tennessee St.	309-293--602	+	26
12. Texas A&M	309-294--603	+	27
13. Arizona St.	311-293--604	+	28
13. Illinois	302-302--604	+	28
15. Alabama	309-297--606	+	30
16. Louisville	311-296--607	+	31
17. UAB	311-297--608	+	32
18. Auburn	306-304--610	+	34
19. Penn St.	315-298--613	+	37
19. East Tennessee St.	313-300--613	+	37
19. San Diego St.	310-303--613	+	37
22. UC Irvine	320-297--617	+	41
23. Wake Forest	314-304--618	+	42
24. Virginia	312-307--619	+	43
24. Oregon	315-304--619	+	43
26. Texas	311-309--620	+	44
27. Mississippi St.	326-297--623	+	47
27. Indiana	313-310--623	+	47
29. Augusta St.	326-308--634	+	58
30. St. Mary’s (CA)	333-309--642	+	66
• • •
INDIVIDUALS
1. Billy Horschel, Florida	72-67--139		-5
2. Kyle Stanley, Clemson	72-68--140		-4
3. Nick Taylor, Washington	75-66--141		-3
4. Kevin Chappell, UCLA	69-73--142		-2
4. Hudson Swafford, Georgia	73-69--142		-2
6. Tim Sluiter, USC	70-73--143		-1
7. y-Joel Sjoholm, Georgia St.	72-72--144		E
8. Jorge Campillo, Indiana	75-70--145	+	1
8. Chris DeForest, Illinois	75-70--145	+	1
10. Rory Hie, USC	74-72--146	+	2
10. David Markle, Kent St.	70-76--146	+	2
10. Brad Smith, UAB	75-71--146	+	2
13. Rob Grube, Stanford	78-69--147	+	3
13. Phillip Mollica, Clemson	75-72--147	+	3
13. Henrik Norlander, Augusta St.	75-72--147	+	3
13. Gareth Shaw, ETSU	74-73--147	+	3
17. Rick Cochran, MTSU	75-73--148	+	4
17. Kevin Foley, Penn St.	75-73--148	+	4
17. David Palm, SDSU	76-72--148	+	4
17. Andrea Pavan, Texas A&M	75-73--148	+	4
17. Adam Rainaud, Louisville	77-71--148	+	4
17. Kyle Stough, Virginia	75-73--148	+	4
17. Stefan Wiedergruen, Charlotte	74-74--148	+	4
24. Tyson Alexander, Florida	75-74--149	+	5
24. Ignacio Elvira, Texas A&M	77-72--149	+	5
24. Derek Fathauer, Louisville	77-72--149	+	5
24. Phillip Francis, UCLA	76-73--149	+	5
24. Sihwan Kim, Stanford	77-72--149	+	5
24. Trent Leon, Okla. St.	73-76--149	+	5
24. Braxton Marquez, ASU	78-71--149	+	5
24. Jason Millard, MTSU	77-72--149	+	5
32. Zach Bixler, Washington	74-76--150	+	6
32. Chadd Cocco, St. Mary’s	76-74--150	+	6
32. Jordan Cox, Stanford	79-71--150	+	6
32. Brendan Gielow, Wake Forest	79-71--150	+	6
32. Mark Johnson, Okla. St.	74-76--150	+	6
32. Scott Langley, Illinois	74-76--150	+	6
32. Adam Mitchell, Georgia	78-72--150	+	6
32. Corey Nagy, Charlotte	80-70--150	+	6
32. Robert Rohanna, Penn St.	76-74--150	+	6
32. Webb Simpson, Wake Forest	73-77--150	+	6
32. Zach Sucher, UAB	79-71--150	+	6
32. Michael Thompson, Alabama	76-74--150	+	6
44. Tim Cha, UC Irvine	77-74--151	+	7
44. Erik Flores, UCLA	76-75--151	+	7
44. Rickie Fowler, Okla. St.	74-77--151	+	7
44. Bobby Hudson, Texas	78-73--151	+	7
44. Lucas Lee, UCLA	79-72--151	+	7
44. Ben Martin, Clemson	74-77--151	+	7
44. Trevor Murphy, Charlotte	77-74--151	+	7
44. y-Derek Tolan, Colorado	74-77--151	+	7
44. Kevin Tway, Okla. St.	81-70--151	+	7
44. Trent Whitekiller, Okla. St.	77-74--151	+	7
54. Knut Borsheim, ASU	79-73--152	+	8
54. James Byrne, ASU	78-74--152	+	8
54. Matthew Giles, USC	78-74--152	+	8
54. Noah Goldman, Miss. St.	77-75--152	+	8
54. Mark Harrell, Alabama	79-73--152	+	8
54. Russell Henley, Georgia	74-78--152	+	8
54. Jay Moseley, Auburn	76-76--152	+	8
54. Gordon Strother, Auburn	75-77--152	+	8
54. y-J. van der Vaart, Va. Tech	77-75--152	+	8
63. Bronson Burgoon, Texas A&M	80-73--153	+	9
63. Brett Cairns, Kent St.	78-75--153	+	9
63. Johan Carlsson, SDSU	80-73--153	+	9
63. Brian Harman, Georgia	78-75--153	+	9
63. David Ludlow, Kent St.	78-75--153	+	9
63. Will Strickler, Florida	79-74--153	+	9
63. Dan Woltman, Wisconsin	82-71--153	+	9
70. Zach Barlow, Illinois	76-78--154	+	10
70. Joey Benedetti, Oregon	74-80--154	+	10
70. Kent Bulle, MTSU	77-77--154	+	10
70. Robert Gates, Jr., Texas A&M	77-77--154	+	10
70. Steven Groover, Auburn	78-76--154	+	10
70. Stephan Gross, ASU	76-78--154	+	10
70. Adam Hadwin, Louisville	78-76--154	+	10
70. John Hahn, Kent St.	83-71--154	+	10
70. Dodge Kemmer, Stanford	78-76--154	+	10
70. Patton Kizzire, Auburn	79-75--154	+	10
70. Lance Lopez, Texas	76-78--154	+	10
70. Jamie Lovemark, USC	79-75--154	+	10
70. David May, Clemson	80-74--154	+	10
70. Derek Sipe, Oregon	80-74--154	+	10
70. Matthew Swan, Alabama	75-79--154	+	10
85. Tom Ballinger, Kent St.	75-80--155	+	11
85. Jonas Enander Hedin, Charlotte	78-77--155	+	11
85. Rhys Enoch, ETSU	75-80--155	+	11
85. Tom Glissmeyer, USC	75-80--155	+	11
85. Charlie Holland, Texas	75-80--155	+	11
85. Jesper Kennegard, ASU	80-75--155	+	11
85. Seamus Power, ETSU	83-72--155	+	11
85. Sam Saunders, Clemson	81-74--155	+	11
85. Sean Shahi, UC Irvine	80-75--155	+	11
85. Darren Wallace, Washington	79-76--155	+	11
85. Steve Ziegler, Stanford	76-79--155	+	11
96. Larry Blatt, Illinois	77-79--156	+	12
96. John Chin, UC Irvine	83-73--156	+	12
96. Tze Huang Choo, Washington	84-72--156	+	12
96. Will Collins, Virginia	78-78--156	+	12
96. Daryl Fathauer, Louisville	79-77--156	+	12
96. Craig Leslie, UCLA	76-80--156	+	12
96. Cian McNamara, ETSU	81-75--156	+	12
96. Chas Narramore, MTSU	80-76--156	+	12
96. Glenn Northcutt, Auburn	77-79--156	+	12
96. Carlos Sainz, Miss. St.	81-75--156	+	12
96. y-Eric Shriver, Pepperdine	80-76--156	+	12
96. Manuel Villegas, Florida	76-80--156	+	12
96. John Wise, Washington	77-79--156	+	12
109. Seth Brandon, Indiana	78-79--157	+	13
109. Greg Carlin, Virginia	77-80--157	+	13
109. Andrew DiBitetto, Charlotte	77-80--157	+	13
109. Josh Oller, Miss. St.	84-73--157	+	13
109. Adam West, UAB	74-83--157	+	13
114. Jake Amos, Augusta St.	84-74--158	+	14
114. Nick Bailes, MTSU	86-72--158	+	14
114. Matt Fast, Miss. St.	84-74--158	+	14
114. Harvin Groft, Penn St.	83-75--158	+	14
114. Matt Hoffman, Illinois	80-78--158	+	14
114. Kenny Kim, UC Irvine	80-78--158	+	14
114. y-James Sacheck, TCU	78-80--158	+	14
114. Matt Van Zandt, Texas A&M	82-76--158	+	14
122. Tyler Brown, Florida	83-76--159	+	15
122. Karsten Clements, Louisville	80-79--159	+	15
122. Amory Davis, Virginia	82-77--159	+	15
122. Aaron Goldberg, SDSU	74-85--159	+	15
122. Dustin Groves, Wake Forest	80-79--159	+	15
122. Matt Hoffenberg, SDSU	84-75--159	+	15
122. Alex Martin, Indiana	81-78--159	+	15
122. Isaiah Telles, Oregon	83-76--159	+	15
130. Max Greil, UC Irvine	85-75--160	+	16
130. TJ Howe, Penn St.	84-76--160	+	16
130. Sean Maekawa, Oregon	78-82--160	+	16
130. Jim Markovitz, Penn St.	81-79--160	+	16
130. Robert McRae, St. Mary’s	84-76--160	+	16
130. Kyle Sapp, UAB	84-76--160	+	16
136. Matt Hughes, Alabama	90-71--161	+	17
136. Chris McCartin, Wake Forest	84-77--161	+	17
136. Jace Moore, Texas	82-79--161	+	17
136. Joseph Sykora, Alabama	79-82--161	+	17
140. Drew Allenspach, Indiana	79-83--162	+	18
140. Josh Bevell, Miss. St.	84-78--162	+	18
140. Tarik Can, Augusta St.	82-80--162	+	18
140. Mike Oimoen, UAB	83-79--162	+	18
140. Kevin Schultz, Texas	83-79--162	+	18
145. Harris English, Georgia	86-77--163	+	19
145. Chad Moscovic, SDSU	80-83--163	+	19
147. Jack Dukeminier, Oregon	90-74--164	+	20
148. Daniel Cone, St. Mary’s	86-80--166	+	22
148. Josh Kelley, St. Mary’s	87-79--166	+	22
150. Santiago Quirarte, Indiana	83-84--167	+	23
150. Steven Rojas, Virginia	88-79--167	+	23
152. Simon Doherty, ETSU	85-83--168	+	24
152. Keith Guest, Augusta St.	85-83--168	+	24
154. Michael McRae, St. Mary’s	89-81--170	+	26
154. Travis Wadkins, Wake Forest	82-88--170	+	26
156. Mitch Krywulycz, Augusta St.	89-82--171	+	27

Posted: 5/29/2008

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