PHOENIX, Ariz. – No. 16 Arizona Men’s Golf used a blistering low afternoon round of 13-under par to put a stamp on the opening day of the Thunderbird Collegiate, ending the day 22-under and one stroke behind Arizona State for first place. Junior Sam Sommerhauser fired back-to-back rounds of 67 on Friday to lead the Wildcats and left Papago Golf Course in a four-way tie for the overall lead at 8-under.
Senior Chaz Aurilia joined Sommerhauser and Sienkiewicz in the top 10 after riding steady play on the back nine. Aurilia was bogey free after the turn in both of his rounds, including three birdies in his afternoon round. He sits tied for eighth at 5-under par going into Saturday’s final round.
The Wildcats led all teams in par-5 scoring by two strokes. The quality scores on par 5’s were epitomized by the Cats’ work on the 561-yard first hole that saw the Arizona lineup score three birdies in the afternoon after sinking a pair in the morning. The team also finished Friday tied for first in par-3 scoring average as Sommerhauser tied Baylor’s Johnny Keefer for the individual lead in that statistic.
Arizona trails the Sun Devils by a stroke as the two in-state participants pulled away from the rest of the field. The Wildcats have a eight-shot cushion of Oklahoma State and North Carolina who are tied for third place at 14-under.
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