KOHALA COAST, Hawai'i – University of Hawai'i senior James Whitworth carded a first round 3-under 69 at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate, Thursday at Mauna Lani Resort's North Course.
 
The Carlsbad, Calif., native was 4-under through his first 11 holes which included three birdies during a four-hole stretch and completed the round tied for 42^nd place. His score of 69 is a season-best and his seventh of par or better this season.
 
Freshman Alec Hilgers matched his season-best round of 1-under 71 and is tied for 75^th place. Sophomore Dane Watanabe shot even par 72 and is tied for 82^nd place.
 
As a team, the Rainbow Warriors are tied for 18^th place with co-host UH-Hilo at 3-under 285. Fifth-ranked Auburn leads the field at 32-under 256, five strokes ahead of Stanford (261). Rounding out the Top 5 are Arizona State (265), Texas Tech (267) and Oklahoma State (267).
 
Individually, Pepperdine's Mahanth Chirravuri posted 11-under 61 and holds a one-stroke lead over Auburn's Jackson Koivun (62). A total of 92 of the 122-man field shot par or better.
 
Also competing for the Rainbow Warriors are Nathan Szpakowicz (73, t-92^nd) and Chris Salem (77, t-114^th) while Cameron Combado (78, t-117^th) and Quinn Murray (87, 121^st) are competing as individuals.
 
The tournament's second round begins with a 7:30 a.m., shotgun start on Friday.

T-18. Hawai'i – 285 (-3)
T-42. James Whitworth – 69 (-3)
T-75. Alec Hilgers – 71 (-1)
T-82. Dane Watanabe – 72 (E)
T-92. Nathan Szpakowicz – 73 (+1)
T-114. Chris Salem – 77 (+5)