Du Ties Western Intercollegiate 18-Hole Record
SANTA CRUZ – Aaron Du became just the third golfer to shoot a seven-under par 63 at the Western Intercollegiate as he tied the tournament's low 18-hole record and led the California men's golf team to the top of the leaderboard after one round played at Pasatiempo Golf Club on Monday.
The Golden Bears shot a collective 16-under 334 in the first round and own a one-stroke lead on a talented 14-team field that features nine top-50 teams, including five ranked among the top 25. No. 22 Oregon (-15) and No. 8 Stanford (-11) claimed second and third place, respectively, at the first round's conclusion.
Du set the tone for Cal's hot start, shooting 4-under through the first nine holes, including birdies on holes 4 and 7 along with an eagle on 9. After moving to 8-under with four birdies in a five-hole span between 11 and 15, Du found himself in position to break the tournament's 18-hole record before a bogey at 16 moved him back to 7-under. Du tied Pepperdine's Jason Allred (2000) and Xavier's John Streibich (2007) for the low 18-hole record.
"Preparation is key," Du said during an interview with GOLF Channel following his first-round performance. "I've played this course twice – once my freshman year and once last year – and just having that experience prepared me for this week."
Cal has four golfers among the top-nine individually through Monday's first round, with Sampson Zheng (-4), Jeewon Park (-3) and Daniel Heo (-3) joining Du toward the top of the leaderboard. The quartet shot a combined 10-under par on the back nine; both Du and Park carded four birdies apiece while Heo notched an eagle on hole 10. Du, Park and Heo all set or tied their personal collegiate single-round lows as well.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
| Place | Team | To Par | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| 1 | California | -16 | 334 | |||
| 2 | Oregon | -15 | 335 | |||
| 3 | Stanford | -11 | 339 | |||
| 4 | Pepperdine | -5 | 345 | |||
| T5 | Colorado State | +2 | 352 | |||
| T5 | BYU | +2 | 352 | |||
| 7 | UNLV | +3 | 353 | |||
| T8 | USC | +4 | 354 | |||
| T8 | UC Irvine | +4 | 354 | |||
| T8 | San Jose State | +4 | 354 | |||
| T11 | Washington | +5 | 355 | |||
| T11 | San Diego State | +5 | 355 | |||
| 13 | Arizona | +6 | 356 | |||
| 14 | Hawaii | +16 | 366 |
CAL ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
| Place | Name | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| 1 | Aaron Du | 63 (-7) | |||
| T5 | Sampson Zheng | 66 (-4) | |||
| T9 | Jeewon Park | 67 (-3) | |||
| T9 | Daniel Heo | 67 (-3) | |||
| T40 | Nathan Wang | 71 (+1) | |||
| T52 | Costas Panay (Ind.) | 72 (+2) | |||
| T80 | Simon Kwon | 76 (+6) |
UP NEXT
Cal's second round at the Western Intercollegiate gets started between 12:22-12:46 p.m. PT on Tuesday. The Bears will tee off hole 1 alongside Washington. Panay, playing as an individual, will tee off at 11:22 a.m. from hole 1. GOLF Channel will provide live coverage from 4-7 p.m. (replay at 8-11 p.m.). Live scoring is available on Golfstat.com.
STAY POSTED
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