Arizona State surges to the top at Southwestern Invite

Arizona State ran wild today at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif., carding a 13-under score of 275 to vault to the top of the leaderboard after two rounds of the Southwestern Invitational presented by TopGolf.

Led by senior Cameron Sisk's 5-under 67 and a 4-under round of 68 by freshman Preston Summerhays, the third-ranked (Golfweek/Sagarin) Sun Devils improved by eight shots from their first-round score of 283 and at 18-under 558, will take a six-stroke lead over host Pepperdine (12-under 564) heading into Wednesday's final round.

Defending NCAA champion Pepperdine nearly matched the Sun Devils shot-for-shot in the second round, carding an 11-under 277, a 10-stroke improvement from day one. After shooting a 73 on Monday, senior Joey Vrzich led the Waves' charge on Tuesday, carding a 5-under 67 to move into a tie for sixth-place at 4-under 140. The second-ranked Waves also counted a 4-under 68 from junior Dylan Menante, a 2-under 70 from Derek Hitchner and an even-par 72 from senior Joe Highsmith for its second-round score.

Arizona State has been in this position at North Ranch before. Just last year, the Sun Devils took a five-stroke lead into the final round of the Southwestern Invitational, only to be passed by the eventual champion San Diego State on a brutally cold and windy day in Southern California.

While the team title seems to be a two-horse race between the second and third-ranked teams in the country, the top of the individual leaderboard also packs plenty of star power.

Georgia's Trent Phillips and UCLA's Devon Bling share the 36-hole lead at 8-under 136, while Texas' Travis Vick is just one back at 7-under 137. Sisk, a two-time All-American at Arizona State who picked up his third collegiate title in the fall at the Maridoe Invitational, is still in the picture at 6-under 139.

Bling had five birdies and a pair of bogeys on his Tuesday card for a 3-under round of 69 while Phillips followed his opening 66 with a 2-under round of 70. Vick's mixed bag included five birdies, two eagles, four bogeys and a double bogey for a second-round 5-under 67.

Both Phillips and Bling added wins at amateur majors last summer to their impressive resumes, with Phillips capturing the Sunnehanna Amateur while Bling survived a five-hole playoff to win the Pacific Coast Amateur. Vick was a semifinalist at the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont.

GOLF Channel will provide live coverage of Wednesday's final round of the Southwestern Amateur beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT.