Arizona men’s golf tied for 4th after first round of NCAA Championships

Arizona was one of the first teams on the tee early Friday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, starting long before the highest-ranked teams in the NCAA Championship. But when the opening round was done, the Wildcats found themselves among some of the big names in the field.

The UA shot a 6-over-par 280 on Friday, good enough for a tie for fourth place out of 30 teams. Vanderbilt, the No. 3-ranked team in the country, leads at +2, with Oregon and Auburn at +5 and Kansas knotted with Arizona at +6.

Arizona’s team score came despite not counting the round of No. 1 golfer Christian Banke, who carded an 8-over 78 due to eight bogeys and a double on the par-4 6^th. He was picked up by the play of Chaz Aurilia and Chase Sienkiewicz, both of whom nicely shot 69 to sit in a 5-way tie for third place in the individual standings and one shot off the co-leaders.

Sam Sommerhauser and Johnny Walker both shot 74, with Sommerhauser recovering from an 8 on the par-4 1^st by recording three birdies in a 5-hole stretch.

Arizona will be part of the second half of teams starting on Saturday, playing with Kansas and Oregon around noon.