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In a team meeting the night before the Pac-12 men's golf tournament, Stanford coach Conrad Ray looked ahead to the ending of the first day.

"If you can bear down, it's amazing what happens in a 36-hole day at the end, either good or bad," Ray said Friday evening.

Stanford finished wonderfully, as it turned out. Any questions about how the Cardinal would perform in their first 36-hole day of the season were answered by a flurry of birdies and an eagle on No. 18 — the usual No. 9 for members of The Country Club of Salt Lake City.

Halfway through the 72-hole tournament, Stanford holds a five-stroke lead over California. Individually, Cal's K.K. Limbhasut posted consecutive scores of 5-under-par 66 and is two shots ahead of Stanford's David Boote. The third round will be played Saturday, with tee times starting at 10 a.m., and the final round is Sunday.

Utah, the host school, also made progress in Friday's afternoon round — in the context of the Utes' realistic expectations in this tournament, amid the Pac-12's phenomenal talent level. As coach Randall McCracken said, "If you finish ninth, that's not bad."

The Utes, who finished 56 strokes behind the 11th-place team in last spring's conference meet, stand 11th. They're four strokes ahead of Washington State and five strokes back of 10th-place Oregon State, after beating four teams in the second round. The home team hopes to "take advantage of our advantage, which is knowing the course," McCracken said.

Utah senior Brandon Kida, the team's No. 1 player, opened with a 77 before recovering with a 68 in what he labeled "definitely a much-needed comeback, after I kind of made a mess of the first round."

His teammates also responded well. "We wanted to fight our way back into this thing a little bit," Kida said. "I definitely drove the ball a lot straighter in the afternoon and I capitalized more times when I did hit some good shots."

Same story with Stanford, only better. With five of six players' scores counting in each round, the Cardinal tossed out their only over-par score as they shot 19-under-par 336 in the afternoon. Jeffrey Swegle, playing in the No. 5 spot in the lineup, posted a competitive course-record 64 after a first-round 76. To further illustrate Stanford's depth, Maverick McNealy — last year's Pac-12 medalist and one of the country's hottest collegiate players — shot the team's worst counting score (71) in the afternoon.

The playing conditions were far more favorable for all the teams in the afternoon, following a blustery, cold morning. Cal led Stanford by two strokes after the first round and played decently in the second round, but couldn't keep up with the Cardinal.

UCLA's Jonathan Garrick (67-68) and Colorado's Jeremy Paul (67-68) are tied for third. Among the more celebrated players in the field, Arizona State's Jon Rahm (70-66) is fifth, McNealy (69-71) is tied for 12th and Oregon's Aaron Wise (73-69) is tied for 20th. Rahm made 10 birdies in the second round.

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Stanford shoots 19-under-par 336 in the second round of the Pac-12 men's golf tournament, with five counting scores.

The traditional nines are reversed for the event at The Country Club of Salt Lake City, with a par of 71, as the usual No. 3 for members becomes a 511-yard par-4.

Utah stands 11th at the halfway mark, a year after finishing 56 strokes out of that position in the conference meet.

Team scores

688 • Stanford (353-336).

693 • California (350-343).

704 • USC (356-348).

711 • Arizona State (359-352).

715 • Washington (360-355).

723 • Colorado (360-363),

723 • UCLA (358-365).

726 • Oregon (370-356).

728 • Arizona (361-367).

736 • Oregon State (371-365).

741 • Utah (378-363).

745 • Washington State (380-365).

Individual leaders

132 • K.K. Limbhasut, California (66-66).

134 • David Boote, Stanford (68-66).

135 • Jonathan Garrick, UCLA (67-68).

135 • Jeremy Paul, Colorado (67-68).

136 • Jon Rahm, Arizona State (70-66).

138 • Sebastian Crampton, California (67-71).

138 • Franklin Huang, Stanford (66-72).

139 • Jordan Gumberg, Arizona (68-71).

139 • Jared du Toit, Arizona State (69-70).

139 • Justin Suh, USC (70-69).

139 • Ryan Slater, USC (70-69).

Utah's scores

145 • Brandon Kida (77-68).

148 • Jonathon Thomas (74-74),

148 • Jose Pelayo (76-72).

149 • Nathan Wunderli (75-74).

152 • Gentry Hicks (77-75).

154 • Steven Croft (76-78).