After battling 90-plus degree heat for two rounds of competition at the San Luis Obispo Country Club, the top-seeded UC Davis men and Long Beach State women lead the 2009 Big West Golf Championship.
The Aggies posted a one-over-par total of 577 as three players finished in top 10 on the individual leaderboard. Brent Booth, who led the UC Davis squad, shot rounds of 72 and 70 to tie for fifth place. Teammate Ramie Sprinkling is knotted in seventh place after a two-round score of 143 (72-71), while Austin Graham is locked in ninth place after carding 144.
Two-time defending championship UC Irvine stands two strokes back of leader UC Davis at the conclusion of day one, as the Anteaters fired a three-over par total of 579 (292-287). The third place Pacific Tigers shot 294 in round one and then bettered their score by six strokes with a second round score of 288. UC Riverside shot one-under-par 287 to lead after the first round and followed that up with a second round 296 to place fourth.
UC Riverside's Andrew Patipaksiril is the individual leader on the men’s side after day one with a six-under 138. His first round score of 67 ties UC Irvine's Michael Im for low score of the day. Im currently sits second after blasting a two-round 140. Patipaksiril and Im are joined in the top three by Highlander Scott Clayton and Mustang Geoff Gonzalez, who shot matching 141 totals. Junior John Chin of UC Irvine, Big West individual champion a year ago, is tied for 10th place with rounds of 74 and 71 for a 145 total.
On the women's side, Long Beach State fired a two-round score of 621 (308-313) to lead the six-team field. The 49ers own a two stroke lead over second place UC Davis (315-308). Four-time defending champion UC Irvine, who shot 316 and 311, is six strokes off the leader with a two round total of 627. UC Riverside carded 637 to grab the fourth spot, followed by host Cal Poly (641) and Cal State Northridge (648).
Individually, Patty Chawalitmetha (UC Irvine), Alice Kim (UC Davis) and Lee Lopez (Long Beach State) are tied for first after day one with a two-round total of 150. Kim boasted the day's best score with an even-par 72 in the second round of play. The trio holds a three-shot lead over UC Davis' Chelsea Stelzmiller, who sits in fourth after carding 153. Stelzmiller lost in a three-hole playoff for the Big West individual title a year ago.
The final 18 holes of the 2009 Big West Golf Championship will be contested Tuesday, April 21 with the first tee times beginning at 7:10 a.m. Admission to the event is free and live scoring for the championship will be provided at www.golfstat.com.
NCAA Regional Information
The NCAA regionals for men will be held at six sites, including the Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, on May 14-16 with the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship slated for May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
The regionals for women will be held at three sites, including the West Regional at the Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz., from May 7-9, with the four-day NCAA Women’s Golf Championship scheduled for May 19-22 at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owing Mills, Maryland.