Vogel paces Trojans at home event

USC freshman T.J. Vogel fired a second-round 63, a tournament low and two strokes off the course record, on his way to a second place finish Tuesday at the USC Collegiate Invitational at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.

Vogel’s strong play led the No. 16 Trojans to a tie for fourth in their home event, finishing 20 strokes behind tournament champions No. 17 Oregon.

After an up-and-down first round Monday morning, Vogel lit up the course in the afternoon, shooting the best score of his young collegiate career.

“In order to win a national title, we need guys that can flat out play,” USC coach Chris Zambri said. “And when somebody shows that they can, that’s huge.”

Vogel got off to a quick start, making birdies on four of his first six holes. After playing the next six holes to even par, Vogel hit his tee shot into the water on a par 3 and made a double bogey on his 13th hole of the day.

He bounced back immediately, making eagle on the next hole, a 522-yard par 5. Vogel closed his round with four consecutive birdies to post an 8-under-par 63.

Vogel began Tuesday’s final round with the lead but Oregon’s Eugene Wong shot 69 to Vogel’s 71 to take the title by one shot. Vogel missed a 20-foot putt on his last hole for birdie that would have tied him with Wong.

“We felt at the beginning of the year that he was a real key to our success,” Zambri said about Vogel. “To have him get it going is great.”

Sophomore Steve Lim also turned in a solid performance for the Trojans, shooting 69-73-69 to finish in a tie for 13th at 2 under par.

Freshman Martin Trainer overcame an opening round 77 to finish 73-70 and tie for 48th. Redshirt junior Bo DeHuff shot 75-74-75 to finish in a tie for 60th.

The struggles continued for USC’s two-time All-American Matt Giles, who shot 69-77-83 to finish in a tie for 75th in the 80-man field.

“My ball striking this week was absolutely terrible,” Giles said. “It was flat out embarrassing.”

Zambri said he thought the tough outing would actually benefit Giles.

“Sometimes that stuff happens, and it really forces you to evaluate what you’re doing,” Zambri said. “I think it’s something that’s going to end up being very helpful for Matthew to have gone through this week the way he did.”

Three Trojans played in the tournament as individuals. Freshman Stewart Hagestad finished tied for 43rd, junior Daniel Park tied for 53rd and freshman Sam Smith tied for 73rd.

USC finished the tournament in the middle of the Pac-10 teams competing, finishing behind Oregon (first), No. 21 California (second) and No. 14 Arizona State (third) and in front of No. 2 Stanford (eighth), No. 11 UCLA (ninth) and No. 15 Oregon State (tied for 12th).

“We’re going to have to get better and play better if we’re going to compete with teams like [Oregon],” Zambri said.

The Trojans will return to action next Friday, March 12, at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas.