LAS VEGAS, NV – Cal (296, +8) hung tough during the first round of action Monday at the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate on a day when the par-72, 7,374-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club surrendered no red scores to a 15-team field that includes 11 squads in the top 25 of at least one national poll. First-round leader Arizona State (291, +3) managed the day's best round while the Golden Bears are among 11 teams within six strokes of the leaders.
“It's very encouraging to only be five shots back,” associate head coach Walter Chun said. “We could have easily gone south and with so many good teams it would have been even tougher to make up ground.”
Cal's team score came from four players – Shotaro Ban, Sebastian Crampton, KK Limbhasut and Collin Morikawa – who are all tied for 23rd after firing identical rounds of two-over par 74 that included only one double bogey from Limbhasut among them. Cameron Shaw is tied for 64th after a six-over par 78.
“Today's team effort wasn't our best or even close to it but a lot of us were able to manage what we could get out of the round and finish the best we could,” said Morikawa, who is looking to extend current strings of top-20 and top-10 finishes to nine and five, respectively. “With this many great teams all bunched together it shows how strong all the teams are. We're just trying to play our best tomorrow to put ourselves in position to win on Wednesday.”
“I give the guys a lot of credit,” Chun added. “On this golf course you can make a big number at any time and for the most part we avoid that. I like where we are. I think we'll be able to climb up the leaderboard. With this course things can turn either for or against you in a hurry.”
Cal had a strong finish Monday as its four scoring golfers playing their final seven holes in a combined even-par. Morikawa led the way at two-under par with birdies on the par-five 13th and par-four 16th.
“I was able to play pretty steady coming down the stretch,” Morikawa said.
“I'm very pleased with how we finished the day,” Chun added. “I don't think there's going to be one team that's going to blow away the field. We just need to continue to plug away and give ourselves a chance. If we can do that we will put ourselves in position for a chance to win.”
Three players – Taylor Montgomery (UNLV), Jon Rahm (Arizona State) and Sam Horsfield (Florida) – share the 18-hole lead after each shot rounds of three-under par 69 on Monday.
Cal will be paired with host UNLV (296, +8) and Florida (295, +7) in second-round action Tuesday. The Rebels are tied for eighth with the Bears after 18 holes, while the Gators are one shot ahead of both teams in seventh. The first of five foursomes from the trio of teams tees off from the first hole at 8 am PT.
The 54-hole event hosted by UNLV will wrap up with the final 18 holes Wednesday. Final-round pairings will be based upon results after 36 holes.
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE (HOSTED BY UNLV)
LAS VEGAS, NV
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS GOLF CLUB (PAR 71, 6928 YARDS)
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Arizona State (291, +3)
T2. Oklahoma State (292, +4)
T2. Illinois (292, +4)
T2. USC (292, +4)
6. Alabama (294, +6)
7. Florida (295, +7)
T8. UNLV (296, +8)
T8. Cal (296, +8)
T10. Texas (297, +9)
T10. Texas Tech (297, +9)
12. Oklahoma (303, +15)
T13. Oregon (304, +16)
T13. TCU (304, +16)
15. UCLA (308, +20)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
T1. Taylor Montgomery – UNLV (69, -3)
T1. Jon Rahm – Arizona State (69, -3)
T1. Sam Horsfield – Florida (69, -3)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
T23. Sebastian Crampton (74, +2)
T23. KK Limbhasut (74, +2)
T23. Shotaro Ban (74, +2)
T23. Collin Morikawa (74, +2)
T64. Cameron Shaw (78, +6)
