NCAA men's golf regionals: Colorado leads Pac-12 surge
The eight teams representing the Conference of Champions put on a strong showing Thursday in the first day of the 2015 NCAA men's golf regionals, but none so much as the mighty Colorado Buffaloes. The Buffs surged out to an eight-stroke lead at Sagamore Golf Club in Noblesville, Indiana, posting a team score of 11-under par (277). Four other Pac-12 teams tendered a top-five performance at their respective regionals across the country on Thursday.
Noblesville Regional – Sagamore Golf Club, Noblesville, Indiana
Twenty-two. That's the number of birdies knocked in by Colorado Thursday in Noblesville. The Buffs rode out to a comfortable eight-stroke lead behind the formidable par-5 play of Jeremy Paul and David Oraee, who combined to shoot eight-under on the course's four par-5's. Philip Juel-Berg also birdied three-of-four par-5's.
UCLA sits in fourth place after day one at Sagamore in Noblesville, posting a team score of five-over par (293). The Bruins also did most of their damage on the par-5 holes, posting a cumulative seven-under score. Individually, Jonathan Garrick and Manav Shah led the way for the Bruins with Garrick finishing at three-under and Shah at even-par.
Distance also did it for the Ducks, as the green and yellow went six-under on the par-5 holes to finish in sixth after day one at Sagamore. Oregon finished nine-over (297) as a team, with Aaron Wise knocking in four birdies for the Ducks. Jonathan Woo was the low finisher for Oregon, wrapping up his day at one-under par after holing four birdies himself.
Bremerton Regional – Olympic Course at Gold Mountain, Bremerton, Washington
The Pacifc Northwest was dominated Thursday by Southern California. The Trojans shot out to a team score of seven-under par (281) behind the strong play of Sean Crocker (six-under) and Rico Hoey (three-under). The showing lands USC in second place heading into Friday's round.
Just 27 miles and a ferry ride from Seattle, the Washington Huskies posted a team score of one-under (287) on the first day of competition in Bremerton. Led by the five-under performance of rising star Cheng-Tsung Pan, the Dawgs landed tied for fourth place at day's end. Corey Pereira also helped the cause with a one-under performance.
Lubbock Regional – The Rawls Course at Texas Tech, Lubbock, Texas
We go deep in the heart of Texas to catch up with the Golden Bears, who find themselves tied for fifth place in Lubbock after a five-under (279) team showing on Thursday. Cal's K.K. Limbhasut and Alexander Wilson posted scores of five-under and three-under, respectively, to lead the Bears. They'll need to find the juice Friday to contend with leader Texas, who scored 11-under as a team Thursday.
Chapel Hill Regional – UNC Finley Golf Course, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Pac-12 champion Stanford had a rough go of it in Tar Heel country Thursday, and finds itself in seventh place at two-over (290) heading into Friday. Pac-12 individual champion Maverick McNealy was the only Stanford player to post a score under par, coming in at two-under. Charlotte leads the regional with a strong 13-under showing on Thursday.
San Diego Regional – The Farms Golf Club, San Diego, California
The Sun Devils took to sunny San Diego for their NCAA regional debut, where they've probably had better days. ASU logged a team score of 12-over (300), good enough for ninth place in the regional. Jon Rahm led all Sun Devils with a low score of one-over par heading into Friday.
Stay with Pac-12.com and Pac-12 Networks for continuing coverage of the 2015 NCAA men's golf regionals.