FORT WORTH, Texas -- Zihao Jin (Beijing/Rancho Bernardo HS) carded matching 72s and is tied for 27th at 4-over-par 144 to pace the San Diego State men's golf team on the first day of the Colonial Collegiate Invitational on Monday.
In a 15-team field that features 12 programs that made the 2021 NCAA Championship last spring, including each of the last five NCAA champions and nine of the top-25 teams in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin team ratings, only seven golfers are under par after 36 holes on the par-70, 7,204-yard Colonial Country Club course.
Jin birdied five different holes over his two rounds today, including three in a four-hole stretch in the first round on the par-4, 406-yard sixth hole, the par-3, 194-yard eighth and the par-4, 407-yard ninth. Jin's birdies in the second round came on the par-5, 565-yard first hole and the par-4, 408-yard 10th. He's tied with four others in 27th out of 75 competitors.
The four other competing Aztecs are within two strokes of one another, including Jack Townsend (San Diego/Charter School of San Diego), Puwit Anupansuebsai (Nakhon Phanom, Thailand) and Youssef Guezzale (San Diego/La Jolla HS) among a nine-way tie for 41st at 7-over 147, and Steve Sugimoto (San Diego/Rancho Bernardo HS) in a tie for 55th at +9.
Playing in SDSU's starting lineup for the first time of his career, Townsend had rounds of 3-over 73 and 4-over 74. Townsend particularly played the first hole well (his second hole), sinking a birdie putt in the first round and an eagle putt in the second. Altogether, he had four birdies and an eagle on the day.
Anupansuebsai, meanwhile, managed three birdies on the day, including two in the first round (No. 1 and No. 9) for a 2-over 72 and one in the second round (No. 6) en route to a 5-over 75.
Guezzale had a 1-over 71 in the first round thanks to birdies on the par-4, 440-yard seventh and the ninth, while recording 13 pars and three bogeys. Guezzale's second round wasn't as kind and featured a lone birdie on the par-4, 430-yard 15th, three bogeys and a pair of double bogeys for a 6-over 76.
Sugimoto only had one birdie in each round (No. 7 in the first round and the par-3, 190-yard 13th in the second round), going 75-74 to round out the first day for San Diego State.
Wake Forest's Michael Brennan leads the field at 6-under 134 with rounds of 65 and 69.
As a team, the Aztecs are in a respectable 10th place at 23-over 583, five shots behind Florida (+18) for ninth place, and ahead of Vanderbilt (+24), Baylor (+24), USC (+26), Oregon (+29) and Clemson (+34). Defending national champion Pepperdine leads after two rounds at 1-over 561, while Oklahoma and Wake Forest are tied for second at +3, and Oklahoma State right behind at +4.
SDSU will be partnered with Baylor and Vanderbilt for Tuesday's final round, beginning at 8:45 a.m. CT (6:45 a.m. PT) on the 10th hole.
Colonial Collegiate Invitational
Fort Worth, Texas
Day One Results (Rounds 1 and 2)
Colonial Country Club
Par 70, 7,204 yards
Team Standings (Top 5 of 15 teams + SDSU)
1. Pepperdine…277-284—561 (+1)
T2. Oklahoma…273-290—563 (+3)
T2. Wake Forest…270-293—563 (+3)
4. Oklahoma State…283-281—564 (+4)
5. Stanford…283-285—568 (+8)
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10. San Diego State…288-295—583 (+23)
Individual Leaders (Top 5 of 75 players + SDSU)
1. Michael Brennan (Wake Forest)…65-69—134 (-6)
T2. Johnny Keefer (Baylor)…68-70—138 (-2)
T2. Yuxin Lin (Florida)…64-74—138 (-2)
T4. Derek Hitchner (Pepperdine)…69-70—139 (-1)
T4. Michael Thorbjornsen (Stanford)…69-70—139 (-1)
T4. Chris Gotterup (Oklahoma)…68-71—139 (-1)
T4. Jaxon Dowell (Oklahoma)…67-72—139 (-1)
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T27. Zihao Jin (San Diego State)…72-72—144 (+4)
T41. Jack Townsend (San Diego State)…73-74—147 (+7)
T41. Puwit Anupansuebsai (San Diego State)…72-75—147 (+7)
T41. Youssef Guezzale (San Diego State)…71-76—147 (+7)
T55. Steve Sugimoto (San Diego State)…75-74—149 (+9)
Jin Paces Men’s Golf on First Day at Colonial CC
