Feb. 7, 2007

Waikoloa, Hawaii - With the Pacific Ocean on his left and Mauna Loa on his right and most of the nation's best players right behind him Pacific senior Thomas Petersson made sure that he went exactly where he needed to. Right down the middle.

Petersson's tunnel vision powered him to 3rd place, with an opening 66 during the first round of the UH-Hilo Intercollegiate at Waikoloa, Hawaii. Surrounded by five of the Top 20 teams in the nation and amongst a field of the nations most accomplished players Petersson not only showed he belonged among the elite, he showed he'd done it before.

"I'm extremely proud of Thomas, said coach Brandon Goethals. "66 is a great score and he showed that all of his hard work does pay off."

Petersson's four-under par at the 6,738-yard course also helped the Tigers to an opening round 284; the lowest one-round total for the Tigers since Coach Goethals began to reshape Pacific Golf two years ago.

"This week is a big step for us moving in the right direction," said Goethals. "It's a great opportunity for us to play against a talented field and do the right things; the things it takes to be on this level and compete on a day-to-day basis. Our guys' work ethic has been phenomenal and it will only get better."

Junior Chris Rosenau chipped in with a 72 and the trio of Charlie Van Sicklen, Patrick Kucich and Bayhaan Lakdawala all carded first rounds of 73. The Tigers are four over for the tournament and pick up play tomorrow morning at 10:10 PST.

Stanford leads the tournament with an opening round 268 while Oregon State is second at 270 and Georgia Tech and Arizona State round of the top four with first round 272's. Cameron Tringale, a former recruit of Goethals at Georgia Tech leads the tournament individually, posting a round of 64. He is tied with Joseph Bramlett of Stanford.