SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Cal (285, +1) ended the first round of the 54-hole Maui Jim Invitational being played at the par-71, 7,147-yard Mirabel Golf Club tied for ninth place in the field of 16. A trio of Golden Bears – Colin Morikawa, Ben Doyle and Tanner Hughes – each shot even-par rounds of 71 and are tied are for 37th.

"We had our chances to get a good round going but just couldn't capitalize on any positive momentum. Overall though, we really didn't have close to our best game today, so I'm optimistic moving forward." said Walter Chun, Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf.

Morikawa, No. 2 in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking, had his game going at times with five birdies including the first two holes and two of the last three (16, 17) as well as the seventh with birdies on each of the course's par-five holes (2, 7, 17) as well as a pair of par-fours (1, 16). But he gave all five shots back on a pair of holes with a double bogey on the par-three sixth and a triple bogey on the par-four 13th.

Doyle had four birdies and four bogeys in his round. He was two-under through 12 holes before bogeys on three of the next four holes on the par-four 13th, 15th and 16th took him out of the red. He would birdie the par-five 17th to get back to par.
Hughes had four birdies and was three-under par through 13 holes after birdies on the par-four first, third and 10th holes before a triple-bogey on the par-three 14th and a bogey on the par-four 18th along with his fifth and final birdie on the par-five 17th brought him back to even.

Walker Huddy (72, +1) and Stephen Griggs (74, +3) were also in Cal lineup and are tied for 51st and 67th, respectively, while William Aldred (74, +3) is playing the event as an individual.

Kent State (264, -20) has a five-stroke lead on second-place Baylor after first-round action while Kent State's Josh Whalen has a one shot lead on three others after his opening-round seven-under par 64.

Cal will open up second-round action Saturday beginning at 8 am and play along with Baylor and seventh-place Georgia Tech. The final 18 holes will be contested Sunday.
 
MAUI JIM INVITATIONAL (HOSTED BY GEORGIA STATE)
SCOTTSDALE, AZ
MIRABEL GOLF CLUB (PAR 71, 7147 YARDS)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Kent State (264, -20)
2. Baylor (269, -15)
T3. Kansas (270, -14)
T3. LSU (270, -14)
5. South Carolina (273, -11)
6. UAB (279, -5)
7. Georgia Tech (280, -4)
8. Houston (281, -3)
T9. Cal (285, +1)
T9. Georgia State (285, +1)
11. Chattanooga (286, +2)
12. Notre Dame (288, +4)
13. Augusta (289, +5)
T14. Hawai'i (290, +6)
T14. South Florida (290, +6)
16. Grand Canyon (291, +7)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Josh Whalen – Kent State (64, -7)

PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
T37. Collin Morikawa (71, E)
T37. Ben Doyle (71, E)
T37. Tanner Hughes (71, E)
T52. Walker Huddy (72, +1)
T67. Stephen Griggs (74, +3)
^T67. William Aldred (74, +3)
^Playing as an individual
 
ADDITIONAL CAL QUOTES
"Today's performance wasn't the best start I was looking for, but I'm still able to take some positives away with five birdies. I got a couple of unlucky breaks today which led to some big numbers but there's still two more days left to play. As for the team, we got off to a rough start when the conditions were good for scoring, but we still have two more rounds left so anything can happen. We just have to stick to our game plan and play our games the next two days." – Collin Morikawa
 
"I played pretty well today but just made a couple of mistakes that kept me from being under par. I think all of us need to do a better job hitting in in the fairway off the tee because the course is very generous once you're in the fairway. I don't think we played how we would have liked today but there's a lot of potential for us to climb up the leaderboard especially after going over our mistakes and correcting them." – Ben Doyle
 
"I played alright but I let a couple get away from me on the back nine. As a team, we didn't get off to the start that we had been hoping for but there's a lot of golf ahead." – Tanner Hughes