EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Cal seniors Collin Morikawa and KK Limbhasut were both winners in opening-round mixed four-ball matches Friday at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup led by Team USA after the first round, 8-4. Morikawa and his playing partner Andrea Lee were 2 & 1 winners over Hurly Long and Patty Tavatanakit of Team International, while Limbhasut and Pimnipa Panthong picked up the second point of the day for Team International with a 4 & 3 victory over Team USA's Zach Bauchou and Dylan Kim.

"It's always great when you're able to put up a point for your team," Morikawa said. "I'm glad I had a great partner with Andrea to make some birdies throughout the round. There's still three more matches to go so I can only focus on the next one and try and get another point."

Morikawa and Lee trailed fell one hole behind early in their match when Long and Tavatanakit birdied the par-three second hole. Morikawa/Lee remained a hole behind until their birdie on the par-five ninth hole evened the match. Morikawa/Lee took their first lead with a birdie on the par-four 11th hole and then increased their margin to three with birdies on the par-five 13th and 15th. Long and Tavatanakit got one stroke back with a birdie on the par-three 16th but ran out of holes when both teams birdied the par-four 17th.

Limbhasut and Panthong picked up back-to-back birdies on the par-three second and par-three third holes to take an early two-hole lead and never looked back. Bauchou and Kim cut the margin to a single hole with a birdie on the par-five seventh but would never get any closer. Limbhasut/Panthong answered two holes later with an eagle on the par-five ninth and increased their lead to three with a birdie on the par-four 11th. Bauchou/Kim came back with a birdie on the par-four 12th to get their deficit back down to two holes but the Limbhasut/Panthong lead jumped to four holes when they birdied the par-five 13th and Bauchou/Kim bogeyed the par-three 14th. The match ended after both teams made par at the par-five 15th.

"It was fun following Collin and KK's matches," Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Walter Chun said. "They both played really well with their playing partners Andrea and Pimnipa. It has to be gratifying for them to both know they've helped their respective squads. There is lots more golf left for them, and I hope they soak in every minute of this experience."

The Arnold Palmer Cup continues Saturday and Sunday at the Evian Resort Golf Club. Saturday's play will start with a dozen mixed foursome matches in the morning followed by a second-round of 12 mixed four-ball matches in the afternoon. The event will conclude Sunday with 24 singles matches. Action begins both days at 7:30 am local time with Evian-les-Bains nine hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone.

"Playing in France is amazing," said Morikawa, who is playing his first event in Europe. "Everything is so beautiful here and it's pretty special to finally get to play in Europe."

Morikawa will team with Lee again Saturday morning in a mixed foursome match against Stefano Mazzoli and Dewi Weber of Team International before joining forces with Shintaro Ban to face Luis Gagne and Andy Zhang in a men's four-ball match. Ban is the younger brother of former Cal player and Morikawa teammate Shotaro Ban.

Limbhasut will also team again Panthong for a mixed foursome match Saturday morning against Team USA's Brad Dalke and Alana Uriell. In the afternoon, Limbhasut and Alvaro Ortiz will face Stephen Franken and SM Lee in a men's four-ball match.

The Arnold Palmer Cup is using an expanded format of United States men's and women's collegiate golfers versus their counterparts from around the world for the first time in the event's history. Both the United States and Team International will field a total of 24 players (12 male, 12 female) for a total of 48 players participating in the event. Team USA leads the all-time series, 8-4.

Morikawa and Limbhasut are only the second duo of Cal players to participate together in the same Arnold Palmer Cup with Morikawa is the only Cal player to participate in the event twice after also playing in 2017. Cal had three players in the 2013 event when Michael Kim and Michael Weaver participated for Team USA, while Joël Stalter competed against his collegiate teammates as a member of Team Europe. Seven players in Cal men's golf history have played in the event with the others Brandon Hagy (2014) and Peter Tomasulo (2003). Former head coach Steve Desimone was also the Team USA head coach in 2014 while Chun an assistant coach for the Americans in 2009. All Cal selections have represented Team USA other than Stalter and Limbhasut.