FULLERTON, Calif.- The Cal State Fullerton men's golf team finished its first day of competition in 10th place in the Southwestern Intercollegiate at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif., on Monday.
The Titans shot 596 to finish 28-over-par after shooting a first round 303 (+19) and second round of 293 (+9). Heading into the final 18 holes, Fullerton is currently 10 strokes out of the top-five in team rankings.
After two rounds, Fullerton trails Stanford (+4, 572), Washington State (+10, 578), host Southern California (+12, 580), San Diego State (+15, 583) and Pepperdine (+18, 586) to round out the top-five.
With a total score of 147 (+5), Cal State Fullerton's Michael Choe and Josh Park led the Titans after day one both in a tie for 20th place, respectively. Choe posted a first round 72 (+1) and second round of 75 (+4), while Park alternated identical rounds with Choe, recording a 4-over-par 75 first round followed by a 1-over-par 72 second round.
Choe's day on the links featured an eagle on the 15th-hole of the first round while Park sunk three birdies over the final back nine in the final round.
A trio of student-athletes is atop the individual leaderboard; Stanford's Maverick McNealy and Jim Liu are joined by Pepperdine's Kevin DeHuff, with a day one tally of 4-under-par 148, respectively. Another pair of golfers round out the top-five, Sean Crocker of Southern California and San Diego State's PJ Samiere turned in a 140 (-2), just two strokes off the lead pack.
CSF senior Ryan Tetrault shot a first round 76 (+5), and second round 72 (+1) to finish tied for 27th place with an overall score of 6-over-par 148 after 36 holes.
Santiago Canyon College transfer Nico Mendoza made his Titans debut firing an overall score of 154 (+12), while shooting a first round 9-over-par 80 and a second round 3-over-par 74. The Yorba Linda, Calif., native showed the most improvement among the team from the first to second round, cutting six strokes off his score and being tied for 54th heading into the final round.
Martin Manalo completed the five-man rotation for Fullerton in team competition as the sophomore tallied an 81 (+10) in the opening round, followed by a 6-over-par 77 in the second to conclude the afternoon tied for 65th place.
Freshman Mark Cobey also made his Titans debut hitting the links as an individual participant chalking up an overall score of 7-over-par 149, after a first round 73 (+2) and second round 76 (+5). The Woodland, Calif., native found himself tied for 32nd in the standings.
The final 18 holes of the Southwestern Intercollegiate will wrap up tomorrow at the North Ranch Country Club, a par 71, at 8 a.m. For live scoring, please click here or visit http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/indexh.cfm?tournament_id=5712
Complete results will be posted on Cal State Fullerton's athletic website at Fullertontitans.com after the conclusion of competition on Tuesday.