Gonzaga University
Itani Quality Homes Collegiate - Day One
Men's Golf in 10th after Day One
9/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Gonzaga men's golf opened the 2016-17 season at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate Monday. The Zags are in 10th place following the first two rounds on the Palouse Ridge Golf Course at Washington State University.
David Ganz and Tyler Munetake are both tied in 21st place on the individual leaderboard. Both golfers are four-over (146) after the first day. Munetake is playing the tournament as an individual. He was the lone GU golfer to shoot under-par on Day 1. The sophomore opened play with a 70 (-1) in the first round, followed by a 76 (+5). He matched the best outing on Par 3 holes on Day 1, with a 2.80 (-1) average.
Ryan Gaske is just one stroke behind in a tie for 28th at five-over (147). He had seven birdies on the first day, and followed a 75 (+4) with a 72 (+1) in Round 2.
Nick Nolan opened his collegiate career with a 77 (+6) first round and an even-par (71) second round. He is tied for 36th with a two-round total of 148 (+6). Nolan had 13 pars in the second round, and eagled the par-five ninth nole. The freshman's three-under total (4.25 average) on the course's par-five holes tops the 83-golfer field. Gaske is two-under (4.50) on the same holes.
Angus Montgomery is playing as an individual as well. The senior is tied for 55th at nine-over (151). He carded a 76 (+5) in Round 1 and a 75 (+4) in Round 2. Chris Mogg and Ben DuBois rounded out the Zags' on the leaderboard. Mogg is 16-over (158) in a tie for 74th, while DuBois is 19-over (161) in a tie for 79th.
"The course was designed for a wind from the west, so the longer holes are supposed to play downwind," GU Head Coach Robert Gray said. "However, with the wind blowing 20 to 25 miles per hour from the northeast, the course played much more difficult than usual. We don't have a ton of Division I experience and that showed in our play today, especially the first round where we posted one of the higher rounds of the field."
As a team, the Bulldogs are 12 strokes out of the top-five with a 595 total (+27). GU was 16-over in the first round and in 10th place. The Zags were six-under on par-five holes, which is tied for third-best through the two rounds.
Washington State, the tournament's host, is the lone team in the event under-par. The Cougars have a 15-stroke lead at six-under (562). Utah is second at nine-over (577). WSU has three golfers in the top-10. Washington State's Nick Mandell, playing as an individual, leads the individual leaderboard at five-under (137). Three Cougars are tied for second at two-under (140).
"Our two freshmen in the lineup, Nick Nolan and Chris Mogg definitely showed first tournament jitters but they carried themselves very well. Chris struck the ball pretty well both rounds. His first round consisted of three holes that ended up equating to his total amount over par for the round. He avoided the big numbers in the second round and improved on his first round score. Nick also improved on his first round and in a big way with an even par round of 71."
"David and Ryan were pretty steady with their scoring from round to round. Tyler, playing as an individual, tied his career low with a 70 in the opening round. We definitely have some areas to work on but we saw a lot of great things out there today. Tomorrow we'll continue to focus on the things we've been targeting the past couple of weeks and play more freely by trusting our decisions and be more relaxed throughout the round."
The third and final round begins with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Live scoring is available on GoZags.com.
