Oct. 13, 2008

The Prestige at PGA WEST (Day 1 Results) in PDF Format

The Prestige at PGA WEST (live scoring)

The Prestige at PGA WEST (tournament website)

LA QUINTA, Calif. -- UC Davis sophomore Austin Graham blitzed the Greg Norman Course with a school-record 9-under 63 on Monday afternoon after shooting 86 in the morning, teammate Nate Pistacchio holds a three-shot lead and UC Davis is just three back of team leader TCU after 36 holes of The Prestige at PGA WEST.

The tournament, which features 10 of the top 50 teams ranked by Golfweek, is being co-hosted by No. 40 UC Davis and No. 12 Stanford and brings together some of the top academic and golf-playing institutions in the country.

Windy conditions in the morning, estimated between 20-25 mph by Aggie coach Cy Williams, tested golfers on the difficult course. Conditions were much more favorable in the afternoon.

TCU, behind a 2-under day from Johan de Beer, shot rounds of 294 and 289 on Monday and are at 7-over heading into Tuesday's final round. Despite an opening round 68 from Pistacchio - a round Williams said was even more impressive because of the wind - UC Davis opened with a 18-over 306 before rebounding with an 8-under 280 in the afternoon, the best score of the day by nine strokes.

Graham, the Big West Conference Golfer of the Month for September, opened his day with an 86, the Aggies' highest of the day which left him in a tie for 80th. However, nine birdies and nine pars in the afternoon turned his day around and moved him into a tie for 14th at 5-over.

He birdied four of his first six holes of the afternoon, including three straight, and then finished with four birdies over his final five including one at his final hole, the par-5, 617-yard eighth. His 63 broke the school record of 64, set just last week by Brent Booth at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic while his score relative to par bettered the previous school-best by two.

"He was probably pretty frustrated that he didn't help the team more in the first round," said Williams. "He was playing very well coming into the tournament but it just got out of under in the first round. That (second round) just shows what a great competitor he is to come back (strong)."

Fighting the wind in the first round, Pistacchio birdied four of his first five holes, matching Graham with a string of three straight, and finished his round of 4-under 68 with seven overall. He carded four more in the afternoon on his way to a 71. At 5-under Pistacchio leads de Beer by three strokes and David Johnson of Central Florida by four. The three were the only players in the red on Monday.

Stanford's Joseph Bramlett and Andrew Putnam of Pepperdine are tied for fourth at 1-over 145.

Stanford is at 13-over and in third after 36 holes, three strokes behind UC Davis with No. 25 Pepperdine and No. 49 Central Florida tied for fourth at 22-over.

UC Davis freshman Tyler Raber had rounds of 78 and 73 and is tied for 14th, highlighting his low round with a quartet of birdies. Senior Ramie Sprinkling is tied for 26th after shooting 78 and then 74 while Booth opened with an 82 before battling back for a strong 74 in the afternoon. He's tied for 47th. Gregg Button, playing as an individual, is tied for 65th after rounds of 77 and 81.

"I think they're all playing well," said Williams of his team. "We have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

Ten of the 16 competing teams are currently ranked among the top 50, including No. 4 Washington, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 21 California, No. 28 Michigan and No. 30 Colorado.

The 54-hole tournament concludes with a 7:30 shotgun start on Tuesday.

THE PRESTIGE AT PGA WEST
La Quinta, Calif. (hosted by UC Davis & Stanford)
Greg Norman Course
Par 72, 7,156 yards
36 of 54 holes

TEAMS
1. TCU, 294-289-583
2. UC Davis 306-280-586
3. Stanford, 297-292-589
T4. Pepperdine, 300-298-598
T4. Central Florida, 303-295-598
6. Michigan, 310-292-602
7. California, 312-293-605
8. Northwestern, 308-298-606
9. Notre Dame, 307-301-608
10. Colorado, 306-303-609
11. Washington, 310-303-613
T12. Michigan State, 327-290-617
T12. Florida Southern, 302-315-617
14. Kentucky, 310-310-619
17. Pacific, 317-305-622
16. Rice, 322-302-624

INDIVIDUALS
1. Nate Pistacchio, UC Davis, 68-71-139

UC DAVIS
1. Austin Graham, 86-63-149
T14. Tyler Raber, 78-73-151
T26. Ramie Sprinkling, 78-74-152
T47. Brent Booth, 82-73-155
T65. Gregg Button (individual), 77-81-158