Beavers Fire 7-Under 353 In Third Round; Tied For Fourth At Pac-12's
April 28, 2012
Pac-12 Men's Golf Championship Round 3 Results 
Pac-12 Men's Golf Championship Live Scoring
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Saturday is known as moving day in golf and Oregon State made a huge move on the scoreboard in Saturday's third round of the Pac-12 Men's Golf Championship, firing a 7-under 353, to move into a tie for fourth place. Sunday's final round begins at 8 a.m. and admission is free to the public.
Senior Alex Moore and juniors Nick Chianello and Matt Rawitzer each shot a 3-under 69 in nearly perfect conditions at the par-72, 7,030-yard Trysting Tree Golf Club on Saturday as the Beavers moved up a spot on the leader board with an even-par 362-265-353--1,080 through 54 holes of the three-day, 72-hole tournament.
"The guys played really well today," Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn said. "It was fun, but we just got off to a slow start. They battled back and I was proud of them. We just want to finish in the top-four, because I don't think we have finished in the top-four in about 10 years. If we can do that, especially in this conference the way teams are ranked nationally and to finish among the country's elite, would be a step in the right direction."
Six teams have separated themselves from the rest of the field as Oregon (-14), UCLA (-10), California (-8), Oregon State (E), USC (E) and Stanford (+6) are in contention for the team title heading into Sunday's final 18 holes. The Beavers' best-ever finish in a conference tournament is second in 2000. They finished third in 2002 when they last hosted the event and had fifth-place finishes in 2009 and 2010.
| T4 | Oregon State | 362 | 365 | 353 | 1080 |
| T6 | Nick Chianello (1) | 71 | 72 | 69 | 212 |
| T13 | Matt Rawitzer (6) | 75 | 70 | 69 | 214 |
| T25 | Jonnie Motomochi (3) | 71 | 73 | 74 | 218 |
| T28 | Alex Moore (2) | 76 | 74 | 69 | 219 |
| T35 | Nick Sherwood (5) | 73 | 76 | 72 | 221 |
| 40 | David Fink (4) | 72 | 76 | 74 | 222 |
Chianello birdied all four par-5's on Saturday and added tweets on the par-4 11th and par-4 18th holes to card a 69 and sit in a tie for sixth place with a 4-under 71-72-69--212. The transfer from the University of Portland is playing in his first Pac-12 Championship but had the experience of playing in the West Coast Conference Championship the past two seasons with the Pilots.
"It went well today," said Chianello who has a chance to record his first career top-10 finish as a Beaver. "I just made a few mistakes that I shouldn't have made, but other than that, I battled back and made some birdies. So that was nice. I three-putted hole 16 from about 10 feet, which is a rough mistake. But then I hit a good shot on hole 17 and then hit a close shot to birdie on hole 18, so that was a good way to finish."
"Chianello has been rock solid," Reehoorn said. "He has kind of developed into the guy that we knew he could be at the beginning of the year and it's good to see."
Rawitzer opened the day with three straight pars before taking a double-bogey on the par-3 fourth hole. But he responded with five birdies, including three on the last four holes to shoot a 69 and move into a tie for 13th place with a 2-under 75-70-69--214.
"That was an awesome finish," Rawitzer said. "In the second round yesterday, I bogeyed the last three holes coming in and I wasn't too pleased with that because I was playing well. We have been struggling as a team with finishes, so I told myself I really needed to step up and hit my golf shots. I hit it to six-feet on 17 and about two-feet on 18, and I left myself easy putts to birdie. It was really good and I was really happy about it."
Reehoorn knows how important the two transfers have been to the Beavers' lineup, especially in an important tournament like the Pac-12 Championship. "It has been huge," he said. "Matt and Nick are leading the way and it has been awesome to see. We kind of knew they could do it all year. I just think it has helped being at our home course so they feel comfortable. It has been a lot of fun to watch them do so well."
Moore said he had two bad swings on Friday that forced him to take a pair of triple-bogeys and finish at 6-over on the first day of competition. He came back in a big way on Saturday with birdies on the par-4 third and par-5 fifth holes that sandwiched a bogey and had a fantastic second shot on the par-5 ninth hole that rolled to about eight feet that he drained for an eagle. He climbed the leader board to move into a tie for 28th place with a 3-over 76-74-69--219 and has the momentum now going into the final round.
"Today I just wanted to go out and play golf and just have fun and enjoy it," Moore said. "Yesterday was just two swings and it cost me six shots. I just looked at it like I'm playing well and besides two swings you are right in the golf tournament. So let's just try to help the team and shoot under par and have a fun Sunday."
Junior Nick Sherwood bounced back with a steady round on Saturday to card an even-par 72 that included a birdie, a bogey and 16 pars. He is tied for 35th with a 5-over 73-76-72--221 and knows the Beavers have the ability for another great round on Sunday to make a push for the leaders.
"My round was really solid but kind of boring actually," Sherwood said with a laugh. "I had 16 pars, one birdie and one bogey, so I didn't really have my A-game today. I just grinded it out and got up and down and posted a solid score. Our team knows that we can shoot any number that we want out here. We just have to put our mind to it because we have done it a hundred times. We just need to put our heads down and play good golf tomorrow."
Senior Jonnie Motomochi shot a 2-over 74 on Saturday and is the third-highest Oregon State player on the leader board as he sits in a tie for 25th with a 2-over 71-73-74--218. Sophomore David Fink also posted a 2-over 74 on Saturday and is 6-over through 54 holes with a 72-76-74--222 for 40th place.
The final round begins at 8 a.m. on Sunday and the Beavers will be paired with USC and Stanford off the first hole with Fenk (8 a.m.), Sherwood (8:10 a.m.), Moore (8:20 a.m.), Motomochi (8:30 a.m.) Rawitzer (8:40 a.m.) and Chianello (8:50 a.m.) going out in that order.
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