Wildcats Hang Tough In Windy Day in Hawai’i To Climb Into First Place

LIHUE, Hawai’i – No. 9 Arizona Men’s Golf weathered a windy day in its second round as the Ocean Course Hokuala played tough for the entire field of the John A. Burns Intercollegiate on Friday. With much of the top half of the leaderboard shooting 10 strokes worse than the day before, the Wildcats persevered to end the day in sole possession of first place at 9-under par. Sophomore Zach Pollo carded the Cats’ lowest round of the day at 2-under.

“There were some serious windy conditions that challenged us and the entire field today,” said head coach Jim Anderson. “Ocean Course Hokuala sort of hit back after giving us pleasant conditions on Thursday, but our guys battled until the very last shot. That determination is what led us to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the day, which is a credit to the maturation and grit of this team. If we keep that same level of awareness and focus on Saturday, we will be where we want to be at the end of the day.”

The wind wreaked havoc for the final six holes of the round as Arizona gave a total of 13 strokes back after another strong start. Pollo made par on his final three holes of the day to solidify his round of 70, which tied for the fifth lowest round of the day. The California native found his groove in the front half of his round as he sunk birdies on the second, fourth, fifth and sixth holes. Arizona also received a strong performance from freshman Tianyi Xiong who finished one stroke behind Pollo on the day.

Pollo sits in a three-way tie for fourth place at 5-under par. Sophomore Yannick Malik is Arizona’s next lowest score at 3-under, which puts him in a tie for 12^th overall. The entire field is chasing Joseph Lloyd from Fresno State who fired a 5-under round of 67 on Friday morning to take the outright lead at 8-under par.

The Wildcats’ overcame the challenging course conditions to move up to first place by two strokes over Grand Canyon and three stokes ahead of Long Beach State heading into Saturday’s final round.