Strong Finish Puts Hruby One Shot Off The Lead At The Prestige

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Despite faltering some on the back half of its round on Tuesday, No. 5 Washington remains in contention at The Prestige at PGA West, sitting in a tie for 5^th at -9.
 
The Huskies shot one-over as a team on the day but salvaged the round over the final three holes, knocking in four birdies without a blemish to sit just two shots outside of third.
 
“Overall it was a tough day for us and we didn’t have our best stuff,” head coach Alan Murray said. “The course was scorable today and some teams took advantage but it was just a battle for any kind of momentum for us.
 
“Golf can give you those days from time to time and we will learn from it and be better moving forward. One really pleasing thing was that we finished well with some birdies coming in… so that gives us a little momentum heading into tomorrow’s round.”
 
Two of those four birdies came off the sticks of Petr Hruby, who finds himself just a single shot off the lead at -8, firing a three-under 68 for the round.
 
“It was another really solid day from Petr, he continues to show his polish as a player,” Murray said.
 
Teddy Lin fought back to even par for the round and three-under on the weekend with a pair of birdies on the front nine. Much like the previous day, Taehoon Song and Bo Peng matched scores in round two, coming in at one-over for the tournament.
 
“Teddy got off to a slow start and fought back to even,” Murray continued. “He could have gotten it under par with a good chance on the last (hole) that slid by. Both Bo and Taehoon shot two-over and scrapped hard.”
 
It was an arduous day for true freshman Finn Koelle , who put himself in a decent position midway through the round at one-over but faltered down the stretch for a 77.
 
“Finn had a tough day but he is one gritty dude and we know he will bounce back,” Murray said.
 
In the individual tournament over at The Golf Club at Terra Lago, Justin Hopkins carded a season-low 72 and finds himself three-over for the weekend. Meanwhile, Drew Warford shot a three-over 75, highlighted by an eagle on 14.
 
“We are a long way back of the lead so something great from us and help from the leaders is required for the win but we are within touching distance of second place,” Murray concluded. “We just need to play and score well tomorrow and see where that gets us.”
 
For more information on the UW men’s golf team, follow…