No. 16 Utah Golf Leads John Burns Intercollegiate Through Day One

LIHUE, Kauai – The No. 16 University of Utah Men’s Golf team wrapped up the first round of play at the John Burns Intercollegiate on Thursday afternoon, using an explosive finish to lead the field at the Ocean Course at Hokuala. A trio of Utes rank inside the top 10 as Sergio Jimenez and Davis Johnson sit near the top of the field in a tie for third.  
 
The Utes finished as the only team under par (-7) while the next three teams on the leaderboard concluded the round even, leaving the 13 remaining teams shooting over par. The stroke difference between the first-place Utes and the second-place teams is the largest difference across the field. Utah leads the tournament in strokes under par, accumulating twenty birdies and three eagles.
 
“Overall, a really good start for the team,” said head coach Garrett Clegg. “The course played extremely difficult today and each of our players were solid. Sergio and Davis played outstanding golf. The winds were up, and we played some incredible golf on some really challenging holes. It’s just one round and we have a lot of golf still to play, but it’s always great to get off to a good start!”
 
Johnson got things started on the right foot, beginning the round with three straight even scores before recording three consecutive birdies on holes 14-16. On the front end of the course, Johnson notched another birdie to bring his score to 3-under. Across the final six holes of the front nine, Johnson ran into a pair of bogeys before adding another birdie on the final hole. Johnson finished with a 3-under 67 to rank tied for third place.
 
Jimenez shined alongside Johnson throughout the first round to find himself in a tie for third place as well. The Spaniard quickly started a stroke over par, recording a bogey on the second hole of the round. In response, Jimenez put together two birdies in the final three holes of the back nine to head into the front nine 1-under. On the second hole of the front nine, Jimenez recorded an eagle and a birdie just two holes later to better his score to 4-under. Across the remaining several holes, Jimenez recorded a bogey, two birdies, and a double bogey, all on consecutive holes. To finish the course, Jimenez added two even scores to conclude…