Huang, Stanford pulling away at Pac-12 tourney

   With Franklin Huang, a sophomore from Poway, Calif., leading a remarkably balanced effort that featured five rounds of par or better, Stanford, No. 4 in the latest Golfstat rankings, extended its lead through three rounds of the Pac-12 Championship Saturday at The Country Club in Salt Lake City, Utah.

   Huang fired a 3-under 68 over the 7,209-yard, par-71 Country Club layout as the two-time defending champion Cardinal posted a 7-under 348 total in the six-player, count-five format to take a 12-shot lead at 29-under 1,036. No. 13 California matched par with a 355 which left the Golden Bears at 17-under 1,048. No. 2 Southern California is another 19 shots behind Cal at 1,067 following an 8-over 363.  Rounding out the top five are No. 10 Arizona State (364) and No. 28 Washington (360), which are tied for fourth at 10-over 1,075.

   Huang’s 68 left him alone in fifth place in the individual chase at 7-under 206. Teammate David Boote, a senior from England, carded a 1-under 70 and is tied for second in the individual standings at 9-under 204.

   Junior Maverick McNealy, the reigning Haskins and Nicklaus award winner, had Stanford’s second-best round of the day, a 2-under 69 and is tied for eighth individually at 4-under 209. Jeffrey Swegle, a freshman from West Des Moines, Iowa, matched par with a 71 and is tied for 12^th at 2-under 211 and Viraat Badhwar, a junior from Australia, had a 1-under 70 and is the fourth Cardinal in the top 15 individually as he is tied for 15^th at 1-under 212.

   Rounding out the Stanford contingent is Brandon Wu, a freshman from Danville, Calif. who had a 75 and is tied for 29^th at 4-over 217.

   Cal’s effort is being led by KK Limbhasut, a sophomore from Loma Linda, Calif. who’s nearly as dominant individually as Stanford is in the team chase. Limbhasut fired a third straight 5-under 66 to build a six-shot lead at 15-under 198.

   Joining Stanford’s Boote in the three-way tie for second at 9-under 204 are UCLA’s Jonathan Garrick, a senior from Atherton, Calif. who carded a 2-under 69, and Arizona State’s Jon Rahm, a senior from Spain who posted a 3-under 68.