LAS VEGAS – Cal's Collin Morikawa is the first-round leader at the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate after firing a six-under par 66 on Monday at the par-72, 7,374-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club. Cal (292, +4) is tied for eighth in the event that features 10 teams ranked among the nation's top 25 among its 15-team field.

Morikawa fired a five-under par 31 on the front nine Monday with his five birdies starting and ending on the par-five third and ninth holes while he also had par-four birdies sandwiched in between on the fourth, fifth and seventh. He reached seven-under par and had a three-stroke lead on the field after adding back-to-back birdies on the par-five 13th and par-four 14th holes before giving one shot back with two bogeys (par-four 15, par-four 18) and one birdie (par-three 17) over his final four holes.

Morikawa is still looking for his first collegiate win but has finished in the top 10 in five of his six starts in 2016-17 and in the top 20 in all six starts. His career totals include 12 top-10 finishes and 18 in the top 20 among 20 stroke-play events.

"Today's round was a very strong day with my ball striking and putting," said Morikawa, who finished the first 18 holes with a one-stroke lead over the world's top-ranked amateur Maverick McNealy of Stanford. "I had a lot of momentum throughout the round and felt pretty confident over many putts, which is something I've been searching for the past few tournaments."

"Collin carried the day and had one of the best rounds I've seen in the history of Cal golf," Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Cal Golf Walter Chun said. "His play today should be an inspiration to his teammates that they can do the same."

Sean Yu (T42nd, 74, +2), Ben Doyle (T58th, 76), William Aldred (T58th, 76, +4) and Tanner Hughes (75th, 80, +8). Yu had a terrific stretch near the end of his round when he had four birdies over five holes (13, 14, 16, 17) before a bogey on 18.

USC (278, -10) is the tournament's first-round leader followed by Stanford (281, -7), Pepperdine (282, -6), Oklahoma State (286, -2), SMU (287, -1), UNLV (288, E) and Illinois (290, +2). The Bears are tied for eighth with Florida and Oklahoma after all three registered four-over par team scores of 292.

"We played much better than our score shows," Chun said. "We hit lots of great shots on a championship caliber course which bodes well for us the next couple of days."

The Southern Highlands Collegiate continues Tuesday and Wednesday with 18 holes of action from holes No. 1 and No. 10 scheduled to begin each day at 9 am PT. Cal is scheduled to start from the 10th hole Tuesday at 9:30 am PT and will play in five threesome along with golfers from Texas Tech and TCU.
 
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE (HOSTED BY UNLV)
LAS VEGAS, NV
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS GOLF CLUB (PAR 72, 7374 YARDS)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. USC (278, -10)
2. Stanford (281, -7)
3. Pepperdine (282, -6)
4. Oklahoma State (286, -2)
5. SMU (287, -1)
6. UNLV (288, E)
7. Illinois (290, +2)
T8. Florida (292, +4)
T8. Oklahoma (292, +4)
T8. Cal (292, +4)
11. Texas Tech (293, +5)
12. TCU (294, +6)
13. New Mexico (296, +8)
14. Arizona State (304, +16)
15. San Diego State (307, +19)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Collin Morikawa – Cal (66, -6)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Collin Morikawa (66, -6)
T42. Sean Yu (74, +2)
T58. Ben Doyle (76, +4)
T58. William Aldred (76, +4)
T75. Tanner Hughes (80, +8)