Peng, Manke (-5) Lead UW To -15 Round On Day One At Amer Ari

WAIMEA, Hawai'i – Led by matching scores of 5-under 67 from RJ Manke and Bo Peng, the No. 21-ranked Washington men's golf team opened the first round of the Amer Ari Invitational with a 15-under team total, good for tie for second place among a top-notch field at Hapuna Golf Course.
 
Peng, making his first appearance for the Huskies since March of 2020, turned in a scorecard with five birdies and no bogies, tying him for fifth on the individual leaderboard, alongside Manke, who had six birdies and one bogey. They'll both enter Friday's round two of the three-day tournament two shots behind the leaders. Friday's action will get underway with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. HT/9:30 a.m. PT.
 
"We obviously missed Bo last year," said UW head coach Alan Murray. "He was stuck in China due to COVID and couldn't get back. It was awesome having him back among the group. For him to show up and shoot bogey-free 5-under was special."
 
A total of 19 teams make up the field at the Amer Ari, including six programs currently ranked in GolfStat.com's top 10, and 10 ranked in the top 25. After day one, No. 3 Arizona State led the tournament, five strokes ahead of UW at 20-under par. No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 11 Texas Tech also sat the tie for second place at 15-under.
 
Peng's and Manke's performances were bolstered by three other Huskies who all shot under par. Noah Woolsey finished with a 3-under 69, while Teddy Lin and Petr Hruby each carded a 70. Woolsey scored just one bogey on the day while Lin notched four birdies and two bogies. The highlight of Hruby's round was an eagle-3 on the 533-yard, par-5 eighth hole.
 
The Huskies largely improved their scores as the day went on. With a shotgun start, all golfers began their rounds on different holes. UW golfers made four bogies over their first few holes, but then seemed to collectively catch fire, notching 29 birdies and an eagle over the five-man team and two individuals, compared to just 15 bogies and no doubles on the day
 
"We started on holes 10 through 13, and it was probably a little windy early on, but everyone got under par reasonably early," said Murray. "The score we're throwing out for the round is 2-under. Any time you're doing that, you've had a really good day. Bo and RJ were the guys who shot a 5-under today, but any of our starting five are capable of shooting a great score. Everyone performed really well. We just need to keep that going the rest of the week."
 
Playing as individuals, Taehoon Song and Drew Warford both turned in solid rounds. Song bogied two of his first three holes (starting on No. 18), but got back to even with consecutive birdies on No. 8 and No. 9. He made par from there to finish with an even-par 72.
 
Warford bogied No. 18 to start, but then made two birdies and two bogies on the front nine, followed by a one-under 3 on No. 10, to get to even. He finished with a one-over 73.