Koelle Tied for 10th After Day One Of The Southwestern Invitational

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – Washington made a move on the back nine Monday but a slight hiccup on the final holes put the Huskies in 10^th after the opening round of the Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club.
 
“It was a bit of a mixed day for us today in terms of our score,” head coach Alan Murray said. “We played lots of good golf in spells but a few bad holes and lack of competitive sharpness cost us. However, the guys did a great job in terms of their attitude and overall hit enough good shots for us to be optimistic and confident about tomorrow’s round.”
 
Thanks in large part to shooting four-under on the back-nine, true freshman Finn Koelle fired a two-under 69 to pace the Dawgs in a tie for 10th. Taehoon Song’s 70 was good to put the senior a shot back of his rookie teammate, tied for 16^th.
 
Despite a triple-bogey on 18, Teddy Lin is in the mix at one-over, followed by Petr Hruby and Drew Warford at four-over and five-over, respectively.
 
“Finn and Taehoon were able to shoot under par rounds and made some birdies, so they’re positioned well,” Murray said. “Teddy had a rough last hole but played well apart from that so his score probably isn’t a fair reflection of how he played. Petr struggled around and on the greens a little but he is never that far off playing well and Drew just had too many dropped shots overall but made some birdies also so he is not far off I believe.”
 
Making his collegiate debut, Justin Bai impressed as an individual, carding a three-over 74, mixing in three birdies on the day.
 
“Justin struggled with his ball striking but really scrambled well and hung in there,” Murray said. “He showed lots of fight in his first round of college golf.”
 
Bai will be the first Husky to tee off for the second round at 8:11 a.m. PT. The UW five will tee off of hole No. 10, beginning with Drew Warford at 9:17 a.m.
 
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