TUCSON -- With four holes remaining Monday in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament, ASU senior golfer Pat Moore approached the 15th tee sitting at 4-under after back-to-back birdies.
Moore was on pace to shoot his second consecutive sub-70 round. But before Moore's parents and grandparents could say "ping," they watched helplessly as Moore sliced his drive into a wash to the left of the fairway.
Moore double-bogeyed the hole and never recovered, finishing tied for 24th place after a 2-over 74. Moore's search for consistency epitomized ASU's struggles at Omni Tucson National Golf Club.
"When you're 4-under, you're obviously playing well," said ASU coach Randy Lein, whose team slipped to ninth place. "But then when you have a shot that causes you to gain 2 strokes, that will take the wind out of your sails a little bit."
Lein said he expects Moore to rebound in today's final round but admits forecasted winds might make it difficult for his team to overcome its erratic play.
"I couldn't tell you," Lein said when asked about his team's second-round performance. "I thought we got off to a good start, and we were ready to do something. We just backed off at the end, which is unusual for us."
Senior Jesse Mueller, who finished tied for 15th place at 3-under 141, had trouble stringing together quality holes. Mueller sandwiched a bogey on the final hole of the front nine between birdies on Nos. 8 and 10.
Lein said junior Alejandro Canizares, the Pac-10 Golfer of the Month, continued to have putter problems. Canizares finished tied for 29th place at 1-under 143.
"Alejandro kind of struggled from the get go," Lein said. "Pat is still talking about being 4-under with four to go and losing six shots, so he's not happy with his finish, but that's the nature of the sport."
Like Mueller, freshman Phil Telliard, who is competing as an individual, finished tied for 29th place at 1-under 143. Sophomore Niklas Lemke finished tied for 45th place at 2-over 146. Junior Charly Simon, whose score was not counted for the second consecutive round, finished tied for 66th place at 6-over 150.
The composite picture after 36 holes is not what Lein expected, considering ASU won the National Invitational Tournament last season.
"We have another day," Lein said. "And we are capable of lighting it up."
Reach the reporter at mark.saxon@asu.edu.
