LIHU'E, Kaua'i – Four-time defending event champion Cal got off to a good start Wednesday in looking to extend its record string of consecutive victories at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate by shooting an opening-round six-under par 282 to lead by five strokes after the first 18 holes. Shotaro Ban is the first-round leader after a career-best round of five-under par 67 at the event hosted by Hawai'i at Wailua Golf Course.

“I had a solid round,” said Ban, who had the best finish of his collegiate career at his most recent event when he tied for third at the Arizona Intercollegiate. “My short game was definitely the difference maker. I'm glad that I was able to contribute to the squad. We played great and really hung in there today.”

“It's nice to have the lead,” head coach Steve Desimone said. “I'm very proud of the guys. The first round is all about positioning and putting yourself in a good spot, and we did that today.”

Ban began on the fourth hole of a shotgun start and immediately birdied his first two holes on the par-four fifth and sixth. He picked up another pair of birdies in back-to-back fashion on the par-five ninth and 10th holes, had another on the par-five 13th and his final one on the par-four 15th. His lone bogey came on his second to last hole on the par-four second.

“It's only the first round so we just have to go out there the next couple of days and execute the game plan,” Ban said. “Hopefully we'll be on top when the dust settles.”

Ban is one of four Cal players in the top 16 after the first round with Cameron Shaw tied for eighth and the freshman duo of Sebastian Crampton and K.K. Limbhasut tied for 16th.

“Shotaro had a great round and the other three guys played really steady,” Desimone said.

Shaw carded an opening-round one-under par 71 that started with a birdie on his first hole on the par-fourth sixth. He would also birdie the 10th and fourth holes, while his bogeys came on the par-four 11th and second.

Crampton was three-under par after a wild first four holes that started with a bogey on the par-three seventh but was followed by back-to-back birdies on the par-four eighth and par-five ninth. He then had the Bears' lone eagle of the round when he made a 20-footer on the par-five 10th. Crampton gave the three strokes back with bogeys on the par-four 16th, second and sixth holes to end with an even-par 72.

Limbhasut also had had an even-par round during a wild up-and-down trip around the course that included both five birdies and five bogeys. He started with a bogey on five and picked up another on seven before moving to three-under with birdies on five of his next eight holes (8, 10, 12, 13, 15). He would give the three strokes back with bogeys on three of four holes (18, 2, 3) during a stretch late in his round.

Alexander Wilson is tied for 60th after shooting a five-over par 77 in his debut in the Cal lineup after playing as an individual in the team's most recent event at the Arizona Intercollegiate. Wilson also started with his first of five bogeys (5, 9, 17, 2, 4) on the fifth hole. He also had a double bogey on the par-three third but managed birdies on the par-five 13th and first holes.

The tournament continues Thursday and Friday with 18 holes each day beginning with a shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. PST/8:30 a.m. PST.

“We take great pride in our winning streak at this event,” Desimone said. “It's not very often that a team can string together a win streak in a single event like we've been able to do. We'd like to make it five in a row and keep this going for a while.”

JOHN A. BURNS INTERCOLLEGIATE (HOSTED BY HAWAI'I)
LIHU'E, HI
WAILUA GOLF COURSE (PAR-72, 6991 YARDS)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Cal (282, -6)
2. UNLV (287, -1)
3. Texas A&M (288, E)
4. UTEP (289, +1)
5. Virginia (291, +3)
T6. Colorado State (293, +5)
T6. Hawai'i (293, +5)
8. Long Beach State (294, +6)
T9. New Mexico (295, +7)
T9. Washington State (295, +7)
11. Arizona (296, +8)
T12. Fresno State (302, +14)
T12. BYU (302, +14)
14. Hawaii at Hilo (304, +16)
15. Santa Clara (308, +20)
16. BYU-Hawaii (311, +23)
17. Hawai'i 'B' (313, +25)
 
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Shotaro Ban (Cal) 67 (-5)

PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Shotaro Ban 67 (-5)
T8. Cameron Shaw 71 (-1)
T16. Sebastian Crampton 72 (E)
T16. KK Limbhasut 72 (E)
T60. Alexander Wilson 77 (+5)