Arizona’s Filip Jakubcik enters final round with Western Intercollegiate lead | Men’s golf

SANTA CRUZ — University of Arizona’s Filip Jakubcik, a sophomore out of Holesov, Czech Republic, turned in another 4-under-par 68 to jump into the lead at the 77th Western Intercollegiate on Tuesday.

Jakubcik carded five birdies, one bogey, and one double bogey at Pasatiempo Golf Club to give hi a 136 total. He has three top-10 finishes in eight events and is seeking his first win of the season.

Pepperdine sophomore Mahanth Chirravuri, a transfer from USC, climbed three spots in to second with his 69, which gave him a 137.

San Jose State’s Xuan Luo shot another 69 and is in a four-way tie for third at 138 with Stanford’s Karl Vilips, Tennessee Chattanooga’s Garrett Engle, and Texas’ Nathan Petronzio.

Vilips and Engle both climbed 28 spots after each fired a 66. Vilips closed with a birdie run. He was 5 under over his last 10 holes.

Luo, nicknamed XL, is attempting to become the first SJSU player to win the Intercollegiate since 1996, when Arron Oberholser bettered Stanford’s Tiger Woods and the rest of the field.

“I just need to play (one) shot at a time,” said Luo, when asked what he needs to do to get things done Wednesday. “Be committed to courage, slay a couple of demons out there, and trust myself. And just have fun out there with my teammates and coach.”

San Diego State’s Chanachon Chokprajakchat, BYU’s Zac Jones, and Washington’s Petr Hruby are tied for seventh at 139.

Seven players, including Stanford star Michael Thorbjornsen, SJSU’s Ivan Barahona and Cal’s Eric Lee, are tied for 10th at even-par 140.

The final round begins at 8:04 a.m. Wednesday. Jakubcik, Vilips, Hruby, and Chokprajakchat tee off in the final group at 1:04 p.m.

“We hit a rough patch in the middle of our round after a decent start, but I was proud of our guys’ composure as they righted the ship in the final holes,” said Wildcats coach Jim Anderson. “I want to shoutout Zach (Pollo) and Filip for their tremendous rounds to lead us today to put themselves in the top 10 of the leaderboards. We are right in the thick of things for team and individual titles going into the final round, which is where you want to be going into a final round.”

Stanford shot a 355 total in the second round to give it a 709 total, which puts the Cardinal in the driver’s seat to claim their 12th team title on Wednesday.

Arizona (711) is two strokes back after firing a 363 in the second round, 15 strokes worse than it did in the first round. Washington (712) is clinging to third with San Diego State (713), Oregon (715), BYU (715) and Texas (716) on its heels.

Cal (720) is eighth, and tournament host San Jose State (722) is tied for ninth in the 14-team event.

IF YOU GO

77th Western Intercollegiate
When: Wednesday tee times, 8:04 a.m.-1:04 p.m.
Where: Pasatiempo Golf Club, Santa Cruz
Admission: Free
TV: Golf Channel and Peacock, 4-7 p.m. (live)