Men's Golf Leads in 2nd Round at Western Intercollegiate

Saturday, April 7

Santa Cruz, Calif. (Pasatiempo)

All Day

North Carolina

The Western Intercollegiate Day 1

Photo by: Todd Drexler

April 7, 2018 | Men's Golf

Play Suspended Due to Late Start, Darkness

By: Steve Kirschner

Tar Heels Ben Griffin and Austin Hitt are in the top 10 and the University of North Carolina has a two-shot lead midway through the second round, which was called due to darkness, at the Western Intercollegiate. Saturday's play was scheduled for 36 holes, but Friday rains pushed the starting times back to the afternoon which caused play to end before the end of the second round.

Carolina shot even par 350 (five players per team score in this event) in the first round, and is nine strokes under par in the second round. UNC's six Tar Heels have played 11 to 13 holes and will finish the second round via a shotgun start beginning Sunday at 7:45 a.m. Pacific.

The tournament is being played at the Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz, Calif. (par 70).

Griffin opened with a 4-under 66 and is an additional 2-under through 13 holes in the second round. The senior from Chapel Hill had 10 birdies and four bogeys on Saturday and is tied for third at -6.

Hitt is tied for 10^th at -3, Joshua Martin is tied for 14^th at -2, senior Jose Montaño is tied for 21^st at even par, senior William Register is tied for 36^th at +2 and freshman Ryan Gerard is tied for 41^st at +3.

Carolina, ranked 20^th in the nation by Golfweek, is three strokes ahead of San Diego State. The Aztecs were 5 over in the first round, but are 11 shots under par in the second and stands at -6.

Seventeenth-ranked Texas is third at -4 and fifth-ranked California is -2.

Griffin is one shot back of Texas's Scottie Scheffler and Arizona's George Cunningham.