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)
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