LIHUE, Hawai’i – Behind a career low of 64 from sophomore Yannick Malik, No. 9 Arizona Men’s Golf opened the John A. Burns Intercollegiate with a 10-under par round to close the first day in a tie for second place. The Wildcats were at their best on the front nine holes, shooting 12-under as a team. Malik’s 8-under performance included a bogey-free round as he bested his pervious career low by four strokes, finishing Thursday’s opening round as the tournament’s outright leader.
“Hats off to Yannick today for going out and shooting a very impressive round as he continues a very strong sophomore season,” said head coach Jim Anderson. “Yannick was rock solid all day and set a great tone for the rest of the team. He and Zach gave us top-12 scores today, but this group is hungry for more. We left some shots out there on the back nine that I know we will correct in tomorrow’s round.”
Malik’s bogey-free scorecard on Thursday marks the third consecutive round that a Wildcat has posted a clean round after Tiger Christensen’s final round at the Arizona N.I.T and Filip Jakubcik in the second round.
Sophomore Zach Pollo, who carded Arizona’s only eagle of the day on the 519-yard sixth hole, finished the opening round with a 3-under round of 69 that put him in a tie for 12th. Pollo found his groove in the middle of his round with six birdies and the eagle on holes four through 13. His birdie on the 13th hole marked his third consecutive birdie.
Arizona sits in a three-way tie for second place at 10-under par alongside Washington State and Grand Canyon. The field is chasing Long Beach State who opened the tournament with a 15-under par opening round.
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