Santa Cruz, Calif.----- Sean Yu shot a personal best six-under par 64 for a three-way share of the individual lead and put his San Jose State University team atop the leaderboard at the 73rd annual Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf men's golf tournament at the Pasatiempo Golf Course.
Yu caught fire on the back nine with five consecutive birdies on holes 11 through 15. The Spartan junior from Taiwan had a tournament best nine birdies on the day. He was the third player in the 84-player field to post a 64 after Stanford's Isaiah Salinda and USC's Justin Suh, the 2017 Western Intercollegiate champion. Salinda had seven birdies and Suh had six birdies and an eagle for their 64's.
USC's Sean Kim and Cameron Henry playing as an individual are tied for fourth place at 66. Even with the exceptional scores by the top five on the leaderboard, only 13 players were under par on the par 70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo course.
Yu was one of two San Jose State players under par as the Spartans grabbed the first-round team lead with a four-under par 346. Senior Kevin Velo worked through a rainy afternoon to finish with a one-under par 69. San Jose State also counted an even-par 70 from Nate Jetter, his best round of the spring season, a 71 from Matt Heitel and a 72 from Ben Campbell.
San Jose State holds a two-stroke lead over USC and Oregon, both of which finished the first 18 holes at 348. Besides Suh's 64 and Kim's 66, USC counted a third sub-70 score from Kaito Onishi's 69. Oregon's top scorers were Craig Ronne and Yin Ho Yue, both with three-under par 67.
Colorado State is fourth at 353. Pepperdine, Cal, and Stanford are tied for fourth at 354 in the 13-team field.
The 54-hole tournament continues Tuesday, April 16, with round two followed by a final 18 holes on Wednesday, April 17. GOLF Channel will provide live television coverage starting at 4:00 p.m. (ET)/1:00 p.m. (PT).
73rd annual Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf men's golf tournament
Pasatiempo Golf Club, Santa Cruz, Calif.
6,615 yards, par 70
April 15, 2019
Team scores
1. San Jose State 346
2. Southern California 348
Oregon 348
4. Colorado State 353
5. Pepperdine 354
California 354
Stanford 354
8. Arizona 359
9. San Diego State 369
10. Washington 370
11. UC Irvine 372
12. UTEP 377
13. Hawaii 383
Leading individuals
1. Sean Yu, San Jose State 64
Justin Suh, USC 64
Isaiah Salinda, Stanford 64
4. Sean Kim, USC 66
Cameron Henry, USC (ind.) 66
More San Jose State scores
9. Kevin Velo 69
14. Nate Jetter 70
21. Matt Heitel 71
32. Ben Campbell 72
32. Parker Sisk (ind.) 72
64. Bryce Wortman 76
74. Charles Thompson (ind.) 78