2023 Pacific West Conference Championship (First Round)
LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. – Two Urban Knights find themselves among the top 10 on the leaderboard after the first 18 holes at Wigwam Golf Course, host site of the the Pacific West Conference Championships, as the sophomore duo of
Anson Pan and
Giulio Zanichelli each carded a 3-over-par 75 to help Academy of Art men's golf rest in fourth place as a team with a combined score of 19-over-par 307.
Though they both finished with identical round one scores, Zanichelli and Pan took different routes to get there after initially going through a bit of a rollercoaster in the early going. Zanichelli captured a birdie on the fourth hole in effort to steady his round, which paid off as he saved par from the fifth through the ninth holes to make the turn at 1-over before going on to earn three more birdies on the back nine (12th, 14th, and 16th holes). While it may not have been an ideal ending, Zanichelli locked up a share of 10th place and his four birdies are tied for third in the tournament field.
Meanwhile for Pan, he also saved par on the same holes as Zanichelli during his front nine (fifth through ninth), but early bogeys saw him make the turn at just 5-over. However, he produced the best nine-hole stretch by an Urban Knight to close the day, dropping birdies on the 10th and 14th holes to finish his back nine at just 2-under. He may have only had the two birdies, but he led all Urban Knights with a total of 13 pars.
Trailing just two shots behind that duo is junior
Allan Osornio, turning in a 5-over-par 77 that was buoyed by a 1-over on his back nine where he earned a pair of birdies on the 12th and 15th holes. Overall, Osornio's 12 total pars have him in a share of 16th place, while rounding out the scoring is freshman
Jerah Venkaiya in a tie for 24th place at 8-over-par 80 (one birdie, nine pars).
Leading the way in the team portion of the tournament is nationally-ranked No. 32 UH Hilo, as the Vulcans boast three of the top individual finishers of the day to help them combine for a 3-under-par 285. That has earned Hilo a 10-stroke lead over second place Holy Names, as the Hawks went 7-over-par 295 after the first day's action. Hilo's Andrew Otani holds the pole position on the leaderboard after he turned in a 3-under-par 69, while his teammates Keith Ng (2-under-par 70, second place) and Junsu Im (1-under-par 71, tied for third) trail shortly behind.
Action continues tomorrow as the second round of the PacWest Championship tees off from Wigwam Golf Course at 7 a.m.
