PROVO, Utah - Propelled by a sensational first round performance, the Nevada Men's Golf team completed the first day of competition at the PING Cougar Classic tied for seventh after recording a 36-hole score of 571 (-5).
The Pack had their best 18-hole round of the season to start the event, opening tournament play with a combined score of 276 (-12), before carding a score of 295 (+7) in the second round.
Keita Okada and Trey Davis led the way individually for Nevada, as they each completed the day with a score of 143 (-1), placing them in a tie for 26th place in a field of 92 golfers.
Okada opened the day with the best 18-hole round of his career, carding a 67 (-5) throughout the first round.
Beginning on the 8th hole, Okada started off the first round with a par before bogeying the 9th hole. Okada locked in and elevated his game following the bogey, as the junior dominated the back nine, accumulating six pars and three birdies to get to two shots below par with seven holes remaining.
Okada parred holes 1-4 before earning an eagle on the par-5 5th hole. He then proceeded to par the sixth hole before earning his fourth birdie of the round on the final hole.
Okada shot 76 (+4) in the second round, and will enter the third and final round sitting at one shot below par.
Davis put together back-to-back solid rounds, carding a 71 (-1) across the first set of 18 holes, before recording a 72 (E) in the second round.
Davis tallied 11 pars, four birdies, and three bogeys in the morning round, while finishing the afternoon round with 12 pars, three birdies, and three bogeys.
Tom Patterson and Peyton Callens each completed the first day tied for 36th on the individual leaderboard with a two-round score of 144 (E).
Callens was outstanding in the first round, carding a 68 (-4) to open tournament play. The fifth-year senior started on the eighth hole and began the round with a par before bogeying the 9th hole. Callens then earned a birdie on the 10th hole and parred the 11th hole; however, he picked up another bogey on the 12th hole.
Callens responded to the bogey in an exceptional way, earning back-to-back birdies on holes 13 and 14. He parred the next three holes before going on an incredible streak of four consecutive birdies beginning on the 18th hole and concluding on the 3rd hole. Callens went bogey, par, bogey, birdie to finish off the round at four shots under par. He proceeded to card a 76 (+4) in the second round, finishing the day at even par.
Patterson had a consistent day for the Pack, managing to card consecutive rounds of 72 (E). In the first round, he tallied nine pars and five birdies, and, in the afternoon round, Patterson had 11 pars, two birdies, and one eagle.
Freshman Alex Maxwell rounded out the Nevada lineup, recording a 36-hole score of 145 (+1) throughout the first day to finish tied for 45th. Maxwell had an impressive first round, opening the event by carding a 70 (-2) over the first 18 holes, before shooting a 75 (+3) in the second round.
The Pack will close out play at the PING Cougar Classic Saturday morning, as they are slated to begin play at 9am.
Nevada will have the opportunity to move up the leaderboard Saturday, as they are within four strokes of four teams currently ahead of them in the standings.
Live Scoring
Live scoring will be available for the final round through the Nevada Men's Golf LinkTree page and at Golfstat.com.
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