The second day of the Pacific 10 Conference Championships concluded Tuesday and the Arizona men’s golf team dropped one spot, finishing the third round in ninth place.

Arizona sophomore Tarquin MacManus played a solid first three rounds, leaving him in fifth place overall as he has posted a total score of 2 under par. With only one player shooting in the 60s for the Wildcats, however, a top finish is unlikely.

“”Tarquin played very poorly (in) the first nine holes of the tournament, but since then he’s played exceptionally well,”” said Arizona head coach Rick LaRose.

LaRose said he was proud of the performances by MacManus and freshman Phil Bagdade, whom LaRose felt held up well in his first big tournament experience.

“”I’m proud of those two, and hope that they can continue to play well,”” LaRose said. “”The other boys just haven’t played as good as we’ve needed them to play, and I’m sure they feel as bad as anybody.””

A pair of juniors on Washington’s team – Darren Wallace and Nick Taylor – both finished Tuesday in the top-five, placing Wallace at the top of the leader board and Taylor tied for third place. With a well-rounded team effort the Huskies remained in first place overall, putting them seven strokes ahead of second-place Oregon.

Arizona sits a daunting 44 strokes behind the Huskies heading into the final day of competition. The fourth and final round is set to tee off today at 8 a.m.

UCLA, having only gained two strokes on the Wildcats during Tuesday’s round, will still need to play their A-game if the Bruins hope to solidify an eighth-place finish.

During the final day of the 2009 Pac-10s, 18 holes are remaining.

“”We can’t do anything about what’s happened,”” LaRose said. “”All we can do is look forward. I don’t feel we can go down much, so hopefully we can go up.””