USC Extends Lead in Pac-10 Tournament

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EUGENE, Ore. ? The USC Trojans used a third-round 15-under 345 Tuesday to take a commanding lead at the 2007 Pacific-10 men's golf championships.

USC nearly equaled its second round 18-under 342 to build a 23-shot advantage over second-place UCLA after 54 holes. The Trojans are at 35-under 1,045 for the tournament, being played at the par-72, 7,033-yard Eugene Country Club.

The Bruins, at 12-under, shot an even par 360 and managed to hold off Arizona State for second. The Sun Devils (4-under), No. 2 Stanford (1-over) and Washington (3-over) round out the top five. After an even par third round of 360, Arizona sits in sixth place at 12-over 1,092.

The final four teams stand within two strokes of each other with 18 holes to play. California and Washington State were tied for seventh at 20 over with Oregon State (plus-21) and host Oregon (plus-22) rounding out the field.

USC's Jamie Lovemark held onto the individual lead after shooting a 5-under 67. The freshman has yet to bogey after 54 holes. Lovemark's 14-under 202 gives him the third round lead by five strokes over Arizona State senior Niklas Lemke and UCLA junior Daniel Im, who each sit at 9-under 207.

USC senior Josh Wooding's 66 was the low round for the day and left him in fourth overall after the third round. Senior Nathan Tyler of Arizona is fifth after a third-round 69 to stand at 6-under 210.

Marcus Sostak turned in the best round of the day for the Ducks, a 2-under 70 that leaves him tied for 28^th at 3-over 219.

Junior Derek Sipe's 72 puts him in a tie for 15^th place at even par, 216 after 54 holes. Junior Joey Benedetti's 4-over 76 places him in a tie for 33^rdat 4-over 220 for the tournament. Senior Eric Hastings is tied for 43^rd at 7-over 233.

Final round action begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday at Eugene Country Club.