The Seattle University men’s golf team ended up in fifth place after Monday’s opening round of the 2015 Western Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championships, held on the Gold Course of the Wigwam Golf Resort.
Jamie Hall (Seattle, Wash.) was near the top of the leaderboard for most of the day, earning four birdies against just two bogeys through the first 16 holes. However, he made double bogey on the 17th hole and bogey on the 18th hole to fall into a tie for 14th place with an opening-round total of one-over-par 73.
The next three Seattle U golfers finished the day in a tie for 19th place at two-over-par 74. Kyle Cornett (Mill Creek, Wash.) battled through a rollercoaster-type of round, collecting five birdies, five bogeys, and a double bogey to end up at 74. Ross Kukula (Ocean Park, Wash.) earned four birdies against just three bogeys, but a triple bogey on the eighth hole helped set him back. Joe Harvie (Orting, Wash.) earned three birdies and was at even-par through 14 holes, but bogeys on the 15th and 18th holes pushed him back to his current position.
Patrick Sato (Bellevue, Wash.) picked up just two birdies during his first round, shooting four-over-par 76 to end up in a tie for 29th place after the opening day. All players are chasing Mitch Tucker of Missouri-Kansas City, who took a one stroke lead over teammate Antoine Rozner and Nicolas Platret of Texas-Pan American with an opening round score of 68 (-4).
As a team, Seattle U combined for an opening-round score of 295 (+7), comfortably in fifth place and still within striking distance of the four teams in front of the Redhawks. New Mexico State and Missouri-Kansas City each shot one-under-par 287 to take the team lead, followed by Utah Valley at five-over-par 293 and Bakersfield at six-over-par 294.
The second round of the WAC Golf Championships is scheduled to begin Tuesday, April 21, at 7 a.m. The Seattle University golfers will play in the second wave of teams on Tuesday, with tee times starting at 7:40 a.m. and continuing every 10 minutes until 8:20 a.m.