TUCSON, Ariz. – No. 11 Arizona Men’s Golf capped the first day of the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate with first-place performances on the team and player leaderboards with the Wildcats finishing the first two rounds at 8-under par and six strokes clear of second place. Senior Sam Sommerhauser, who fired back-to-back rounds of 69, also sits in first place at 6-under with a two-stroke advantage of teammate Tianyi Xiong.
“We wanted to come out on our home course and set the tone on Monday, and we accomplished that goal today,” said head coach Jim Anderson. “When you are in first place as a team and as an individual, you know it’s a job well done. The great part of our group is they have a desire to be even better and card lower scores tomorrow. It’s that competitive mindset we will utilize in Tuesday’s final round as we look to finish the event off in championship fashion.”
The Wildcats were two strokes better in their morning round from afternoon, recording a team score of 5-under par in the first round. Arizona got a pair of 3-under performances from Sommerhauser and Tiger Christensen on Monday morning to lead the field. The team was especially dominant on Tucson Country Club’s longest holes as it tallied six birdies and an eagle on the course’s par 5’s.
After entering the second round with a six-stroke lead over New Mexico, Arizona extended its lead to six to finish the day at 8-under par. Sommerhauser’s second 3-under par round of the day tied for the fourth lowest round of the afternoon.
The Cats have three golfers in the top five of the individual standings with Xiong sitting two strokes behind Sommerhauser in a tie for second and Christensen finishing three strokes behind the leader in a tie for fourth.
Arizona is part of a three-team pack to break par through the first two rounds. To hang on for the team victory, the Wildcats will need to fend off rallies in Tuesday’s final round from Long Beach State and New Mexico who sit in a tie for second place at 2-under par.
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