San Diego, Calif. - The Pacific men's golf team is tied for eighth place after the first round of the NCAA West Regional at the Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. The Tigers rallied from +13 after 12 holes and sitting in 13th place, combining for four birdies down the stretch and climbed back up to eight place after the first round.

"The one thing about this team is that we never quit," said head coach Brandon Goethals. "We got off to the worst start ever and fought hard to keep ourselves in the game. I'm really proud of our guys."

Led by senior Alex Johnson (Tucson, Ariz.), who shot a first round 73 (+1), the Tigers finished the first round with a team score of 298 (+10). Despite being 20 strokes behind leader USC, the Tigers are just four strokes out of a shot to advance to the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Okla. The top five teams from each region and the top five individuals from teams not advancing, are selected to advance to the finals at Karsten Creek Golf Club.

Senior T.J. Bordeaux (Tacoma, Wash.) was just a shot behind Johnson, sinking three birdies in the opening round. Sophomore Alex Edfort (Somerset, N.J.) had a first round 75, while senior Patrick Kucich (Stockton, Calif.) was another shot back at 76. Kucich led the Tigers with five birdies in the first round, but had a pair of double bogeys. Junior Danny Garcia (Stockton, Calif.) rounded out the Tiger scoring with an 80.

The Tigers are back in action with round two on Friday morning, teeing off at 8:00 a.m.