La Quinta, Calif. — Junior Dane Watanabe carded a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday to lead the University of Hawai'i men's golf team into a tie for fifth place after the opening round of the Big West Championship. Held at the La Quinta Country Club for the sixth consecutive year, the Rainbow Warriors posted a team total of 293 (+5).
 
Watanabe, a native of Honolulu, sits in a tie for fifth place individually, four strokes behind leader Steen Zeman of Long Beach State. His steady opening round included a 1-under performance on the 7,056-yard layout, marking a significant improvement over his opening day at last year's championship.
 
The Rainbow Warriors, entering the week as the No. 6 seed, currently share fifth place with UC Irvine. Hawai'i sits within striking distance of the top of the leaderboard, trailing second-place Cal Poly by only three strokes. Defending champion Long Beach State holds a commanding 14-stroke lead over the field after firing a 12-under 276.
 
Sophomore James Whitworth also turned in a solid performance for UH, carding a 1-over 73 to sit in a tie for 14^th place. Nathan Szpakowicz followed with a 2-over 74 (t-22^nd), while Alec Hilgers and Chris Salem both finished the day with 3-over 75s to round out the scoring for Hawai'i. Cameron Combado is serving as the team's alternate for the week.
 
The Rainbow Warriors are looking to surpass their best all-time Big West Championship finish of fifth place, which was set in 2019. The winner of the 54-hole tournament will earn the conference's automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Regional field.
 
The second round of the championship continues Monday morning at the La Quinta Country Club.
 
T5. Hawai'i — 293 (+5)
T5. Dane Watanabe — 71 (-1)
T14. James Whitworth — 73 (+1)
T22. Nathan Szpakowicz — 74 (+2)
T29. Alec Hilgers — 75 (+3)
T29. Chris Salem — 75 (+3)