Freshman Jackson Rivera Fires Debut 2-Under To Lead Men's Golf In Season Opener

Freshman Jackson Rivera began his USC career with a 2-under 70 to lead the Trojan men's golf team in the 2021-22 season-opening round at the Marquette Intercollegiate at Erin Hills (Wisc.) G.C. on Sunday (Sept 5.).

The Trojans, with only four returning golfers on the team with seven newcomers - including three new faces in the starting five this week - finished the first round today at 5-over 293, battling tough conditions on the back 9. Purdue leads the field at 13-under with South Florida at 10-under.

"I was proud of our guys," USC Coach J.T. Higgins said. "They gave it their best effort even though it was not reflected in the scores. The wind picked up on us over the final 6-7 holes and it got pretty sporty. But I like our team and i think we have some good days ahead of us."

Rivera and fellow freshman Gavin Aurilia each opened their USC careers with eagles on the par 5 first hole. Rivera went on to turn at 1-over and was 2-over thru 13 before finishing with four birdies on the final five holes. He is tied for 13th at 2-under.

"It was a good start for the freshmen to both eagle their first hole of college golf," Higgins said. "Those two will play some great golf for us in the coming years."

Junior Tyler Guo, who got off to a nice start with birdies on 2 and 3, turned at 1-under. He was 2-over on the back closing with a birdie on 18, and is tied for 38th at 1-over.

Aurilia is tied for 65th at 3-over with senior transfer Jack Boulger and sophomore Shane Ffrench.

Meanwhile, four Trojans played at the nearby Washington County G.C. Individual and a pair of USC transfers sit atop the leaderboard as fifth-year senior Alex Ross fired a blistering 8-under 64 to take the lead with redshirt freshman Parker Rostowsky tied for second at 6-under 66.

Senior Cameron Henry is tied for 14th at par while freshman Junyi Tang is tied for 20th in the 34-man field at 1-over.

"We have some depth this year and some of those guys are going to help us a lot," Higgins said.