LA QUINTA, Calif. - Come for Stagecoach, stay for the Big West Men's Golf Championship.
UC San Diego is tied for seventh in a 12-team field after Sunday's opening round at
La Quinta Country Club in the Coachella Valley.
The Tritons finished seven over par on the par-72 course that played at 7,100 yards.
The Triton duo of
Kyle Dougherty and
Justin Gill are tied for 11th place among the 72 golfers in contention. They both shot even par.
In front of the field is Cal State Fullerton at 9-under par, two strokes in front of second place Long Beach State, the 22nd-ranked team in the country and two-time reigning league champion.
The individual leader is Long Beach State's Krishnav Chopraa at 9-under. He holds a five stroke lead over his nearest competitors.
TRITON STANDINGS
tie-11
Kyle Dougherty, Even (72)
tie-11
Justin Gill, Even (72)
tie-38
Francis Catalano, +3 (75)
tie-46
Nathan Tseng, +4 (76)
tie-54
Akira Isayama, +6 (78)
TRITON TIDBITS
• The Tritons are now able to compete in postseason action as they completed a mandatory four-year exclusion as part of the school's transition to NCAA Division I.
• UC San Diego is coming off its first Division I win at the El Macero Classic earlier in April.
• The Big West team winner earns an automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA Championship.
• This is the fifth straight season that the Big West Championship has been held at La Quinta.
UP NEXT
The second round begins at 10 a.m. and the Tritons tee off at 11:50 a.m. The third and final round is Tuesday with an 8 a.m. start. Action can be followed with
live scoring.
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
