UA men fall to 3rd at Pac-10s

The Wildcats trail Arizona State going into the final round of play, but this time the deficit is a bit larger.

ASU shot a tournament low 8-under-par 352 to place themselves in position to win back-to-back Pac-10 titles.

The Sun Devils were led by the outstanding play of their top two players, Scott Johnson and Chris Hanell.

Johnson and Hanell shot a 67 and 69, respectively, to pull into second and fourth place overall in the individual standings.

ASU had all five of its scoring golfers finish the day in the top 20.

The Sun Devils are also the only school to have two players in the top five in the individual standings.

Oregon, which led after the first two rounds, slipped a bit to 366, falling into second place, 11 strokes behind ASU.

Arizona also fired a 366 and fell from second to third place overall.

The Wildcats will need a tremendous effort from all six golfers in order to overcome the deficit.

Southern Cal stumbled from second to fourth after carding a 371 on the par-72, 6,847 yard layout at the Eugene Country Club.

Stanford, led by noted amateur Joel Kribel's 69, shot a 377 and finished the day in fifth place.

California is in sixth, followed by UCLA in seventh.

Washington and Oregon State are tied for eighth and Washington State rounds out the top 10.

In the individual race, Trojan Chad Wright maintained his first-place standing, but his lead shrank from six shots to three.

Johnson, Kribel and Hanell were the only three players in the 60 man field to shoot under par as they closed the gap between Wright and the rest of the field.

Arizona junior Rory Sabbatini continues to lead the team as he shot a 72, placing him in a three-way tie for seventh at 215.

Sabbatini has recovered nicely since carding an opening round 74 in the morning round on Monday.

Sabbatini's effort was helped by the solid round turned in by sophomore Todd Rose, who continues to excel at his first career Pac-10 championship.

Rose carded a 1-under 71 to go along with his 71 and 74 from Monday's rounds, and stands in a tie for tenth at 216.

Other scores for the Wildcats include freshman Scott Moore at 219, sophomore Andy Barnes at 221, senior Gary Matthews at 222 and freshman Derek Gillespie at 224.

The tournament concludes today with the final 18 holes of play.