WCC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | VIDEO: Miller, Shieh Preview 2017 WCC Championship
PROVO, Utah – Junior Hayden Shieh carded a 5-under 67 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the WCC Championship, taking place at the Riverside Country Club in Provo. As a team the Broncos scored a 2-under 286 to tie for third place.
"Another nice round by Hayden," head coach Rob Miller said. "There are a lot of good players in this conference and Hayden is one of them."
Shieh recorded six birdies and a bogey on the 7,013-yard course layout to take a one-stroke lead over a trio of golfers, including BYU's Patrick Fishburn, the 40th-ranked player in the country. Shieh is seeking to become the first Santa Clara golfer to win the league tournament.
Freshman Matt McCarty scored an even-par 72 to tie for 16th place. "Matt had a rough stretch when it started raining," Miller added. "He's not used to playing in muddy conditions. It's not expected to rain tomorrow, so hopefully he can score better."
The Broncos are tied with No. 22 Pepperdine and LMU at 286, three shots behind second-place Saint Mary's and seven behind front-runner BYU.
"It's going to be tough to beat BYU on their home course," Miller explained. "If they shoot 9-under each round they're going to win."
Sophomore Derek Ackerman carded a 1-over 73 to tie for 21st and Hassan Said is in a tie for 26th at 2-over 74. Charlie Watson scored a 5-over 77.
"We will need to play a little better and get more from the lower end of our roster," Miller said. "It's a long shot, but you never know. We want to play even with BYU tomorrow to have a shot in the last round."
Round two of the three round event tees of Friday starting at 7:50 a.m.
Santa Clara First Round Individual Results
1. Hayden Shieh 67 = 67 (-5)
T17. Matt McCarty 72 = 72 (E)
T21. Derek Ackerman 73 = 73 (+1)
T26. Hassan Said 74 = 74 (+2)
T41. Charlie Watson 77 = 77 (+5)
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