The WSU men’s golf team began round one of the Goodwin Invitational Thursday. The Goodwin, hosted by Stanford at TPC Harding Park, brought 31 collegiate teams to compete for three days.
After an impressive run in which the Cougars have finished top-10 in every tournament they’ve played in so far this year, the Goodwin threatens to break that streak. After day one, the Cougs sit in 24th place, with a score of 14-over-par.
Sophomore Sam Renner is the only Coug who managed an even score on Thursday. He offset three bogies with three birdies, and shot an even 70 on the day, putting him in a tie for 21st place through round one.
Senior Preston Bebich started strong, with a birdie on hole one. However, he wound up compiling six bogies as the round went on and did manage two more birdies, to give himself a final score of the day at 3-over-par.
Franklin Lydra had a similar day to Bebich. He birdied hole one but eventually fell to 3-over-par. The junior double-bogeyed a hole toward the end of the round, and his score finished at 5-over.
Ben Borgida struggled early. Early bogies put the freshman in a hole, and he was never able to get out of it. He finished the day with a score of 6-over-par.
Pono Yanagi struggled the most of anyone on the WSU team. He did not collect a single birdie, and his five bogies, along with two double-bogies, gave him a final score of 9-over par. A difficult day for the fifth-year senior.
With two days to go, Wazzu is nine back of a top-10 spot. While not out of reach, it might be a more attainable goal to try and finish among the top half of teams. To do that, they would need to jump into the top 15, and they are only 4-back from that position. With two more days to go, WSU will look to bounce back and find redemption on a course that has given them quite the trouble so far.
