NCAA Men’s Golf : USC Takes Over Team Lead in Second Round

Will Tipton has experienced a number of physical setbacks during his golf career at USC.

A year ago, for example, Tipton missed the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championships when his hand was severely cut. He had another setback when he had to undergo surgery during the summer to remove a benign tumor from his chest.

Last fall, however, Tipton’s health was not the reason he failed to qualify for the Southwestern Intercollegiate tournament at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village.

“I guess I was just having too much fun at the end of the summer,” Tipton said. “I wasn’t concentrating enough on golf.”

Judging by his performance Thursday at the NCAA Division I men’s championships at North Ranch, Tipton appears to be back in tune with his game.

Tipton’s second-round one-under-par 70 was the low score of the day for the Trojans, who had their second consecutive 291 to take the second-round lead at 582.

Florida (583) is in second place, followed by Washington (584), Georgia (589) and Oklahoma and Georgia Tech (590). UCLA (596) is 10th.

Wake Forest (608), which was runner-up in 1987, was one of the 11 teams that failed to make the cut. Eleven players, in addition to those who automatically qualified with their teams, made the individual cut at 150.

Illinois’ Mike Small, who shot an 81, was disqualified after signing the wrong card, making him the team’s non-counting player. Illinoishad to use Kevin Fairfield’s 85, raising its team score to 609. That dropped Illinois from a 19th-place tie to a 23rd-place tie, allowing Houston Baptist and New Mexico to make the team cut.

Tipton’s performance Thursday came a day after USC freshman Bryan Pemberton tied three other players for the first-round lead with a 69.

Pemberton shot 72 Thursday, putting him in third place at 141, behind second-round leader O.D. Vincent of Washington (138) and Jeff Hull of South Carolina (139).

Tipton, a junior from Hollister, Calif., shaved seven strokes off his first-day score, giving him a two-day total of 147.

Also at 147 for USC were Mike Blewett, who had a 73 Thursday, and Steve Sear, who had a 76.