SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Seniors Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) and Zihao Jin (Beijing/Rancho Bernardo HS) each fired 2-under-par 68s to lead the San Diego State men's golf team in the first round of the Maui Jim Intercollegiate Friday afternoon at the par-70, 7,115-yard Mirabel Golf Club.
Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS) and Shea Lague (Jamul, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) added 1-under 69s as the Aztecs are tied with Washington for fifth at 6-under 274. Georgia Tech leads the 14-team field at 16-under 264, while Clemson (14-under 266), Auburn (9-under 271), Louisville (7-under 273) round out the top 5.
Anupansuebsai started out with a birdie on the par-4, 449-yard 10th hole followed by three consecutive pars. After back-to-back bogeys on the par-3, 217-yard 14th and the par-4, 433-yard 15th, Anupansuebsai went par-birdie-par to finish his front nine at even-par 35. He then birdied the par-4, 405-yard first but bogeyed the par-4, 439-yard third. Anupansuebsai got back to red figures with a birdie on the par-3, 165-yard sixth and finished with a birdie on the par-4, 456-yard ninth to sign for a 68.
Jin, meanwhile, went his first 16 holes without a bogey, birdieing the par-3, 178-yard 11th, par-4, 423-yard 16th and the par-5, 571-yard second. Jin's only blemish came on the par-3, 183-yard eighth, but he recorded his 14th par of the round on the ninth to finish with a 68. Anupansuebsai and Jin are tied for 17th out of 90 competitors.
Guezzale, who along with Lague is tied for 27th, bounced back from a bogey on the par-4, 466-yard 13th with birdies on No. 16, the par-5, 561-yard 17th and the first to get to 2-under. Guezzale bogeyed the par-4, 526-yard seventh to settle for a 69.
Competing in his first collegiate event, Lague was at 1-over through his first 12 holes with 11 pars and a bogey on the 15th. Lague sank his first collegiate birdie on the par-4, 472-yard fourth and followed with another one on the sixth. Following a bogey on the seventh, he finished with a par on No. 8 and a birdie on the ninth to complete his 69.
Steve Sugimoto (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) finished at 2-over 72 and is tied for 57th. Sugimoto recorded three birdies - par-4, 393-yard 12th, No. 14 and No. 3 - but also had three bogeys and a double-bogey on the 13th.
Jack Townsend competed as an individual and shot a 12-over 82, which has him in 90th-place. Townsend's lone birdie came on the first, his 10th hole of the day.
The Aztecs begin their second round at 8 a.m. PT Saturday, teeing off from the first hole.
Maui Jim Intercollegiate
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Round One Results
Mirabel Golf Club
Par 70, 7,115 yards
Team Standings (Top 5 of 14 teams)
1. Georgia Tech…264 (-16)
2. Clemson…266 (-14)
3. Auburn…271 (-9)
4. Louisville…273 (-7)
T5. San Diego State…274 (-6)
T5. Washington…274 (-6)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 90 players + SDSU)
1. Ross Streelman (Georgia Tech)…62 (-8)
2. ^David Puig (Arizona State)…63 (-7)
T3. Kyle Cottam (Clemson)…64 (-6)
T3. Christian Banke (Arizona)…64 (-6)
T3. ^Bartley Forrester (Georgia Tech)…64 (-6)
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T17. Puwit Anupansuebsai…68 (-2)
T17. Zihao Jin (San Diego State)…68 (-2)
T27. Youssef Guezzale (San Diego State)…69 (-1)
T27. Shea Lague (San Diego State)…69 (-1)
T57. Steve Sugimoto (San Diego State)…72 (+2)
90. ^Jack Townsend (San Diego State)…82 (+12)
^ competing as individual