Results and live scoring

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. - Top-seeded UC Davis overcame a rough start to put together a solid back nine and put itself in solid position on its way to second place after Monday's first round of the Big West Men's Golf Championship at Wood Ranch Golf Club.

The Aggies were a collective 12 over on the front nine, enduring six bogeys, three double-bogeys and two triple-bogeys, but then turned it around to combine for 10 birdies on the back nine which they played four shots under par among their five players. Freshman Ryan Knop led the way with a 1-under 71.

UC Davis finished with a 4-over 292 and is just five shots back of first-day leader UC Santa Barbara (-1), but is in a tough battle with Cal Poly (+5) in third and Cal State Fullerton (+6), UC Riverside and host CSUN, which are tied for fourth. Long Beach State (+7) is close behind in seventh.

"Today was actually a very good day for us," said head coach Cy Williams. "We played 86 out of 90 holes really well and we didn't let the crazy start rattle us at all. All of our guys look solid and I'm excited to go out and get back at it tomorrow morning."

Knop is tied for fifth in the 45-player tournament. Ben Corfee is tied for 15th after shooting 73, Patrick Soli and Jesse Bratz each had 74 and are tied for 17th, and Luke Vivolo carded a 76 and is tied for 29th.

Zach Smith of UCSB shot 69 for a one-stroke lead over three players. Only six players finished under par in the first round.

None of the Aggies made their turns at par or better while three of the five players were in red numbers on the back. Knop was 3 over after just three holes but had two birdies to get back to 1 over midway. Three birdies later over a four-hole span turned a 2-over round into a 1-under finish.

Corfee was 4 over at the turn but then flipped his day with three birdies and no bogeys over the final nine holes. Soli and Bratz were each 1 over after nine holes. Soli was 1 over on the back, helped by two birdies, while Bratz had eight pars and just one bogey. Vivolo was 3 over after two holes and 5 over after nine but then was 1 under on the back, picking up back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th holes.

UC Davis is looking for its first conference championship since 2012 and its fourth overall. The Aggies are also trying for their third straight berth to the NCAA Regionals. The tournament winner advances to the regional automatically.

UC Davis will play with Long Beach State and Cal Poly and will tee off the first hole beginning at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday. The championship concludes on Wednesday.