STOCKTON, Calif. - The San José State men's golf team leads after the opening round of the Visit Stockton Pacific Invite at The Reserve at Spanos Park. The Spartans shot a 6-under 282, four strokes ahead of Long Beach State in second.
"We had a bit of a battle today with some very strong wind," said head coach John Kennaday. "I'm proud of the guys, we fought hard today but we have a lot of fight left to go. Let's see if we can get better over the next two rounds."
Senior Sean Yu ended his opening round with a bang - going birdie, birdie, eagle over the final three holes to finish at 8-under 64. For his eagle on No. 18, Yu rolled in a 163-yard wedge. "It was as perfect as you could possibly hit it," Kennaday said.
Yu, who posted a program-record 61 in the Spartans' last tournament, was not far off on Monday in Stockton. Yu was 3-under par at the turn before a bogey on No. 10 put him at 2-under. But the senior put together a birdie on No. 11 and another on No. 14 before his flurry over the final three holes. Yu has been hot as of late, shooting 66-or-better in four of his last five rounds. Yu has a four stroke lead over the field entering tomorrow's second round.
Caleb Shetler is tied for third after shooting a 3-under 69. He was even par at the turn but racked up three birdies over the back nine. It's his second-straight sub-70 round after capping the Alister McKenzie Invitational with a season-low 67.
Also in the lineup, Matt Heitel tallied a 1-over 73, tied for 25th, while freshman Carl Corpus posted a 4-over 76, tied for 62nd. Corpus is making his debut with the Spartans after playing as an individual in two earlier fall tournaments. Bryce Wortman struggled on the front nine but was just 2-over on the back nine to finish at 9-over, tied for 89th.
The Spartans will be back in action tomorrow morning and playing a third and final round on Wednesday morning. This is San José State's final fall tournament.
