Gonzaga University
West Coast Conference Championships - Day One
Nolan Tied for Fourth at WCC Championships
4/16/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
SANTEE, Calif. -- Gonzaga's Nick Nolan is in a tie for fourth-place after the first round of the 2018 West Coast Conference Championships. The event is being hosted by the University of San Diego at the Carlton Oaks Golf Club.
The Zags are tied in fifth place with Loyola Marymount after a first day total of 292. GU is four-over par, just two strokes out of third place.
"Holes seven through nine and the 18th were really the difference for us today, where we played those holes nine-over," GU Head Coach Robert Gray said. "Seven is a long Par-3, and par is a solid score on any day. Hole 8 isn't overly difficult, but it can bite you if you're not careful. The ninth is a Par-5 and we didn't play it horribly, but we played it even-par and we'd like to be at least two-under on it today, with the wind making it reachable with an iron. The 18th was just plain tough today with it playing into a 15-20 mile-per-hour wind, the pin tucked in the back corner by the water and on the other side of a steep ridge. Despite those holes, we played really well. The pin will likely be much easier on No. 18 tomorrow so we just need to clean up holes seven through nine and continue our play on the other holes."
Nolan made five birdies and 10 pars in his first round. He is two-under (70), four strokes behind the tournament leader, entering the second round. The sophomore was one-under on the front-nine and back-nine. He led the field with an average of 3.80 (-2) on the course's Par-4 holes.
David Ganz is tied for 16th at one-over (73). After going even-par on the front-nine, he was one-over on the back. The Portland, Ore. native, made three birdies and 11 pars.
Ben DuBois and Tyler Munetake are two-over (74) and three-over (75). DuBois is in a tie for 23rd, while Munetake is tied for 28th. DuBois started his day with two birdies on the front-nine, going even-par on the first nine holes and two-over on the back-nine. Munetake made 13 pars in Round 1.
Holden Backes had a first round total of 81 (+9). He is tied for 42nd.
"Nick put together a great first round of two-under, followed by good rounds from David (73), Ben (74) and Tyler (75)," Gray said. "Holden played too tentatively and didn't have a great day. He'll bounce back the next two rounds, as he'll be more assertive with his game.
"Once again, I'm very proud of how the guys carried themselves today. Competitive mindset all day, regardless of circumstances. With two rounds to go, we're still in it."
Pepperdine leads the team leaderboard at eight-under (280). The Waves have a two-stroke lead over second-place Saint Mary's.
Perry Cohen of Saint Mary's tops the individual leaderboard at six-under (66). Pepperdine's Joshua McCarthy is in second at four-under (68). The Waves have three golfers in the top-five.
The second round begins at 7:50 a.m. Tuesday. Backes will be the first Zag to tee off at 8:45 a.m. All golfers will start on Hole 10 in Round 2. Live scoring will be available on GoZags.com.
