Play Suspended At Pac-12 Championships With Huskies Leading the Pack

CAREFREE, Ariz. – The 10th ranked Washington men's golf team enjoyed a successful opening day of the Pac-12 Championships on Friday, leading the pack virtually all day at Desert Forest Golf Club.
 
Play was suspended due to lightning before Petr Hruby, Taehoon Song or Teddy Lin could finish their second round, but UW finished the day eight shots clear of second place Oregon at 13-over par.
 
"Overall it was a good day for us and our guys played some excellent stuff," head coach Alan Murray said.
 
While nearly every team struggled with the conditions in Carefree, the Huskies got off to an incredible start, hitting the turn with a commanding lead 10 shots ahead of the next closest team and continuing to build the lead throughout the opening round.
 
By the time the Huskies had finished the round, the lead had ballooned to 17 strokes. Five Dawgs sat inside the top-20 individually, led by Lin with a five-under 66. Finn Koelle was in solo fourth at three-under, while Song and Drew Warford each fired a 71 to tie for 11th. Hruby's two-over 73 was good for a tie for 18th.
 
"The course is very tough in the strong winds that we got today," Murray said. "Hard to remember a course with scoring being so volatile. Good shots can yield birdies but if you hit it offline you can make a number as you can see by every team's scorecards. Our guys did a great job of dealing with the challenge it presents."
 
Playing continuously, the second round was far more up and down for the Huskies.
 
While several players struggled to find solid footing, Hruby's steady play kept UW's heads above water, sinking three birdies with two bogeys to hit the turn at one-under for the round. Hruby birdied hole No. 2 and fired pars on his other five holes and will resume on the seventh hole even for the tournament, sitting in fourth.
 
Lin had an exquisite day overall marred slightly by a pair of triple bogeys, yet still finds himself just one shot back of Hruby in a tie for 5th with one hole left in the second round. Koelle sits at two-over, following up his 68 in the first round with a 76 in round two.
 
Song will have two holes to play to complete his second round, currently sitting in a tie for 17th at six-over. Drew is tied with Song, having posted a 77 in the second round. Bo Peng birdied the ninth hole to salvage a 75 in round two and is tied for 39th at 10-over overall.
 
"We had to deal with some adversity but the guys hung tough and we are in a nice position," Murray said. "You can't win it on day one at the Pac-12s but you can dig yourself a big hole. I think the guys proved to themselves that they can play this golf course well. You just have to be zeroed in on every shot out there."
 
Hruby, Song and Lin will conclude their second round at 8:30 a.m. PT. The field will be re-paired after the completion of the round. Third round tee times are slated to begin at 10:30 a.m.
 
"We will get some rest tonight and be ready to go when Round 2 recommences and Round 3 begins tomorrow," Murray said. "Honestly, it's a lot fun competing on this type of golf course and our guys dealt with it really well."

For more information on the UW men's golf team, follow @UW_MGolf on X and Instagram.