Seaside, Calif. - Taking on a field of past and present rivals, the Pacific golf team put itself in contention on the first day of play at the Saint Mary's Invitational. Playing two rounds on Monday, Sept. 15, to open their 2014-15 campaign, the Tigers used a strong second 18 to finish tied for 4th in the 16 team field. Overall, Pacific sits at +6 as a team, equal with Fresno State, and just behind Saint Mary's and San Diego, which finished as the only two teams under-par for the day at -6 and -1, respectively, at the Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Course.
"We had an awesome second round today to put us in contention for our first event of the year," said head coach Chris Hill. "Their performance on a tough course really shows that the guys bought into the new system. It's very refreshing to see that the guys are sticking to the game plan. All we need to do now is get a little better with our execution and we will be in great shape. I am extremely proud of all the guys from the 1-to-6 in the order and I'm excited for tomorrow."
After a struggle in the opening round, the Tigers found their groove in round two, led by their vets, senior Byron Meth, junior Matt Lee, and senior Drew Bender. Meth and Lee were able to climb up the leaderboard with their performance as the duo finished the opening day each inside the top-10.
For Meth, the reigning WCC champion, went under-par in each of his two opening rounds to his senior season as he finished the first 18 holes at one-under, only two one-up himself with a two-under, 70 in round two. At -3, Meth finished the day tied for fifth overall, four back of San Diego's Mathias Dahl.
Just behind the senior, Lee completed his opening day with an impressive surge over the final 18 holes of play as he shot a team-best three-under, 69, which tied with senior Drew Bender for the round's best score. With the -3, Lee pushed his way up the standings and into a tie for eighth overall, one back of Meth and five back of the individual leader.
The veterans play over the second round of action gave the Tigers a -4, 284 for the round as Meth, Lee, and Bender combined to shoot -8.
The Tigers will go for the title on Tuesday, Sept. 16, when they take to the course at 8:00 am as part of the tournament's shotgun final start.
