STOCKTON, Calif. – The 22nd-ranked Santa Clara men's golf team lived up to its lofty billing by shooting a 9-under 279 to grab the first-round lead at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational.
Led by junior Derek Ackerman, who tied for second at 4-under 68, all five Broncos scored par or better for the team's fifth round of the season below 280. Santa Clara holds a two-shot lead over West Coast Conference foe BYU with Denver three-shots back.
Ackerman scored an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole and was 5-under through his first seven. He bogied the eighth hole and scored par over the final 10. Ackerman is one of six players tied for second, three-strokes behind Grand Canyon's Filip Lundell.
"Good day for Derek," head coach Rob Miller said. "He got under (par) early and just kept parring holes."
Freshmen Zack Kaneshiro and Jack Avrit both shot a 2-under 70 to tie for 17th with nine other players.
Senior Hayden Shieh finished the day at 1-under 71 while Matt McCarty shot even-par 70.
"Who would have thought our worst scores would be from our No. 1 and No. 2 players," Miller deadpanned. "It just shows how deep and strong we are at the 3, 4 and 5 spots. Fortunately, they had a good day and propped us up. If you can get away with it for a round, that's huge."
Playing as an individual, sophomore Will DelBiaggio carded a 4-over 76.
Second round action on the 7,082-yard, par-72 Reserve at Spanos Park gets underway Friday at 8 a.m. The Broncos will be in the last group teeing off from the first hole, getting their day started at approximately 9:40 a.m. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com.
Santa Clara First Round Individual Results
T2. Derek Ackerman 68 = 68 (-4)
T17. Zack Kaneshiro 70 = 70 (-2)
T17. Jack Avrit 70 = 70 (-2)
T29. Hayden Shieh 71 = 71 (-1)
T34. Matt McCarty 72 = 72 (E)
T86. Will DelBiaggio* 76 = 76 (+4)
*competing as an individual
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