Georgia, Phillips take first round leads at Southwestern Invite
Courtesy of Georgia Athletics
There's a lot of red on top of the leaderboard after the first day of the Southwestern Invitational being held at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village.
The Georgia Bulldogs, ranked 16th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin poll, shot a 9-under 279 in Monday's first-round to open a four-stroke lead over No. 3 Arizona State, which finished at 5-under 283 on a beautiful midwinter's day in Southern California where temperatures reached the mid-70s.
Georgia's top dog, senior
Trent Phillips, made seven birdies and an eagle en route to an opening round of 66, good for a one-stroke lead over UCLA veteran
Devon Bling, who shot a 67.
Five of Phillips' birdies came in a seven-hole stretch through holes 4-10. After a bogey on 11, he made back-to-back birdies on holes 12 and 13 to move to 5-under on the day. The Inman, SC native who won the Sunnehanna Amateur in July more than made up for a bogey on 14 with an eagle on the par-5 15th.
Bling, a fifth-year senior who won the prestigious Pacific Coast Amateur in July, opened his round with a bogey but made six birdies thereafter for an opening round of 67.
In addition to Phillips' 66, Georgia also counted 2-under rounds of 70 from freshmen
Buck Brumlow and
Maxwell Ford.
Texas senior and two-time Walker Cup team member
Cole Hammer aced the 202-yard 13th hole and is tied for third with SMU's
Nathan Petronzio at 4-under 68.
USC freshman
Jackson Rivera, a four-time Rolex All-American from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., held a share of the individual lead at 6-under through 15 holes but gave five strokes back following a double bogey on 16 and a triple on 17.
The Southwestern Invitational will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday at North Ranch Country Club, with GOLF Channel providing live coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT.
ABOUT THE Southwestern Invitational
54-hole men's college tournament with team (best
four
scores of five players) and individual competitions.
The
Southwestern Invitational is the combination of two
previously existing
tournaments: the Southwestern Intercollegiate
(started by USC in 1978) and the Jones Invitational
(hosted by Pepperdine since
2014).
View Complete Tournament Information