WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – No. 11 Arizona Men’s Golf opened the NCAA West Lafayette Regional in fine form, ending the first round in second place at 5-under par on Monday. The Wildcats had a trio of golfers finish in the top 10 of leaderboards and were led by junior Johnny Walker who left the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in a tie for third at 3-under. Junior Tiger Christensen ended his day a shot behind Walker, which was good for a tied for fifth place.
“Today was one of those days on course when your preparation pays off,” said head coach Jim Anderson. “We wanted to come out and send a message on day one, and we were able to do that with some great scores throughout the lineup. Johnny, Tiger and Sam paced us with quality rounds that put each of them in the top 10. This was a great start for our team, but I know all five of our guys want to get back out there and shoot even lower scores tomorrow. With a few adjustments on a couple of holes, this team can go right back out there and make an even bigger statement in round two.”
Walker’s strong round was a product of steady play as he carded four birdies to just one bogey on Monday. The Chandler, Arizona native was particularly efficient on the shortest holes of the day as he ended the first round in a tie for fifth in par-3 scoring. Christensen’s round was marked by answering bogeys with birdies, including a streak of four consecutive birdies on the back nine. By sinking seven birdie putts, Christensen tied Wisconsin’s Cameron Huss for the tournament lead for bridies.
Arizona opened its first round on the front nine holes and made the turn one shot over par before shooting 1-under on the back nine. The Wildcats were one of three teams in the field of 13 to break par in the first round.
The Cats sit six strokes behind tournament leader Vanderbilt entering Tuesday’s second round. Arizona also holds a one-shot advantage over host Purdue and six strokes over fourth-place Florida. The five teams with the lowest scores after 54 holes will advance to the NCAA Championships in Southern California later this month.
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