Fresno State Athletics
Dog in 7th at Cougar Classic
4/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 23, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - Brian Sunker entered the Bulldog line-up this week and is making the most of his opportunity.
Sunker, who's played in just two tournaments all season and posted a 75 as his best round to date this season, shot rounds of 71 and 70 and is tied for 5th place after 36 holes of the Ping Cougar Classic held at the Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah.
The Bulldogs (295-287--582) are in seventh place in the 18-team field, two shots behind Nevada and UNLV, both tied for fifth at 4-over par. Colorado State leads the tournament at 7-under par, one of two teams under par after the first two rounds.
The Dogs trail No. 8 Augusta State by four shots heading into the final round. Fresno State's 1-under par round in the afternoon was the fourth-best score of the round.
The Dogs played the first 12 holes in the rain and when they arrived there was snow on the course.
Sunker's opening round was extremely consistent as he made 15 pars with two birdies and a bogey. In his afternoon round, he made five birdies.
"I'm so happy for Brian," said head coach Mike Watney. "He's arguably one of the hardest workers on our team and it's nice to see him rewarded with some good rounds on the course. He's been our sixth man and I didn't know what to expect. This is a very tight course and Brian hits it straighter than the average player, so he played smart and his short game was very sharp."
Michael Gideon (71-74--143) is 1-over par for the tournament after racking up eight birdies in the first two rounds. He is tied for 23rd place.
2009 WAC player of the Year Grant Doverspike (76-72--148) and Bhavik Patel (77-71--148) both struggled in the opening round but bounced back with solid afternoon rounds. They are tied for 39th.
Bryan Hogan (79-80--159) is tied for 87th place at 15-over par after two rounds.
"We haven't been a very good bad weather team this year," said Watney. "We didn't play well at Stanford and didn't this morning either, although we didn't play as poorly as we did at Stanford. Some players play better in cold weather, like Tom Watson, and that's why he won five British Opens. It's not an insurmountable lead, but we will have to post a really good score and get some help."
Watney said Saturday's weather forecast in Provo calls for sunny skies and 58 degrees.
"We are Your Team" The Bulldog men's golf team plays the final round of Ping Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah on Saturday, April 24. Follow the tournament via live scoring on GOLFSTAT
Players Mentioned
