AUSTIN, Texas - The Pepperdine men's golf team is in ninth place after Monday's first two rounds of the Morris Williams Intercollegiate.

The Waves shot two consecutive 299s at the par-71 University of Texas Golf Club and have a total of 598. A top-five finish isn't out of the question with a strong finish during Tuesday's final round as the Waves are just six strokes out of fifth place. Pepperdine does lead top-ranked Oklahoma State by two strokes. Texas leads the competition at 579.

Pepperdine was at a disadvantage during the morning round as sophomore Josh Anderson (Temecula, Calif./Murrieta Valley HS) withdrew to have an issue with his wrist checked. Anderson was back on the course during the afternoon, however, and his even-par 71 was one of the best second-round scores in the competition. Anderson was coming off co-medalist honors at the Waves' last tournament, the General Hackler Championship, but won't have the opportunity to go for two in a row.

Senior Carl Smith (Laguna Beach, Calif./Santa Margarita HS) also had a strong second round. He was tied for 32nd after a 75 in the morning, but he matched Anderson with an even-par 71 of his own, moving him all the way up to a tie for 11th place with a 4-over 146. He had a total of nine birdies on the day, six in the second round.

"Josh came back and played really well considering the circumstances," Pepperdine Coach John Geiberger said. "And Carl also did a great job. But you need more than two good scores. We'll try to finish the tournament strong tomorrow."

Senior Shane Mason (San Diego, Calif./St. Augustine HS) and junior Andrew Putnam (University Place, Wash./Life Christian Academy) are both tied for 52nd place at 153, as Mason went 75-78 and Putnam shot 73-80. Junior Andrew Widmar (El Paso, Texas/Cathedral HS) is tied for 61st place at 155 (76-79).

Team Results: 1. Texas 292-287=579; 2. New Mexico 281-299=580; 3. Texas Tech 287-299=586; 4. LSU 292-298=590; 5. Texas A&M 298-294=592; 6. Arkansas 294-299=593; T7. TCU 301-293=594; T7. Georgia 287-307=594; 9. Pepperdine 299-299=598; 10. Tulsa 305-294=599; 11. Oklahoma State 299-301=600; 12. SMU 304-303=607; 13. Kansas State 302-307=609; 14. Baylor 305-306=611; 15. UT-San Antonio 323-315=638.

Top Individuals: T1. John Catlin (New Mexico) 69-73=142; T1. Ben Tewes (SMU) 71-71=142; T3. Lance Lopez (Texas) 71-72=143; T3. Travis Ross (New Mexico) 71-72=143; T3. Chris Ward (Texas Tech) 71-72=143.

Pepperdine Scores: T11. Carl Smith 75-71=146; T52. Shane Mason 75-78=153; T52. Andrew Putnam 73-80=153; T61. Andrew Widmar 76-79=155; -- Josh Anderson WD-71=71.