While the Stanford men’s golf team remains in the top spot after two rounds of play at the NCAA Championships, Minnesota is refusing to go down without a fight. The Cardinal’s momentum slowed yesterday as the men shot a two-under-par 278 for a relatively average round in the tournament.

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Rob Grube leapt out to an early lead individually on the first day of the NCAA Championships. But after shooting a one-over-par 71 in the second round, the junior slipped into a four-way tie for third. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/7639
Alvin Chow

Rob Grube leapt out to an early lead individually on the first day of the NCAA Championships. But after shooting a one-over-par 71 in the second round, the junior slipped into a four-way tie for third.

After shooting their own 278 yesterday, the Golden Gophers burst onto the course today with a fury but, in the end, couldn’t quite sneak past the Cardinal. Firing a four-under-par 276, Minnesota will be going head-to-head with Stanford in a duel for first today and tomorrow. Heading into today’s competition, Stanford has totaled a seven-under-par 553 and was only one stroke ahead of second-place Minnesota’s 554.

“Minnesota has a very good team,” head coach Conrad Ray said. “They have a team comprised of many veteran golfers. Their guys have had some success at previous championships and are no stranger to big tournaments like this — they are a good opponent. Tomorrow, our guys just need to play the tougher holes a littler bit better, sink a few more putts, and we should be in the clear.”

Rounding out the current top five at the NCAA Championships are Coastal Carolina (558; two under par), East Tennessee State (560; even par) and Charlotte (562; two over par).

Among the Cardinal golfers, junior Rob Grube fell two spots from his first-place pedestal the day before. Grube shot a one-over-par 71 in the second round, giving him a five-under 135 overall to be mired in a four-way tie for third.

Unfortunately for Grube and the Cardinal, many of the best of the best in the nation have seemingly woken up from their first-round slumber. Bronson LeCassie of Minnesota seized the top individual spot of the tournament with an eight-under 132 while Vanderbilt’s Jon Curran is only one stroke in front of the third-place hopefuls with a six-under 134.

Senior Zack Miller’s meteoric rise, however, somewhat offset the Cardinal’s overall decline. Miller jumped 15 places to go into tomorrow’s rounds in a tie for 14th; he picked up four birdies to finish day two with a one-under 69 and one-under 139 overall.

Sophomore Daniel Lim, on the other hand, fell 14 spots into a tie for 29th. He shot a two-over-par 72 yesterday, giving him a one-over-par 141 overall.

Senior Matt Savage rose 22 places since the first round, concluding yesterday’s action in a tie for 44th. Savage had an even-par 70 in the second round (142 overall). Rounding out the Cardinal’s attack was freshman Joseph Bramlett, who improved significantly following the first round. Bramlett jumped 42 spots and ended the day in a tie for 102nd after firing a two-under 68 (146 overall).

With so much movement in the individual competition, the NCAA team championship is more difficult to predict than ever. The Cardinal can only hope that conditions will be conducive to good scoring in tomorrow’s round so that the team can effectively defend its first-place position.

“Today was a solid day,” Ray said. “We had a slow start with a really good rally in the middle. The guys posted some solid scores that work out with our position. The championship is still up for grabs, though. The guys are anxious to see what happens, and we look forward to today’s rounds.”