LIHUE, Hawaii -- Sophomore Thomas Hutchison sank an eagle on the fifth hole en route to a 2-under-par 70 in the opening round and a tie for fourth place, while senior Jesse Bratz held on to a top-10 individual place with a 36-hole total of 146 strokes, leading UC Davis on the first day of action at the Big West Conference men's golf championship at Wailua Golf Course Monday.

The Aggies battled wet and windy conditions in the afternoon en route to a team total of 591, 15 over par and five behind team leader UC Irvine for third place among the nine-team field. Long Beach State finished the day in second place at 13-over 589, just two strokes in front of UC Davis. 

Meanwhile, UC Santa Barbara's Zach Smith leads the individual medalist race with a 2-under 142 total. Cal State Fullerton's Matt Wilson and UC Irvine's Matt Gunson are locked up in second place at 143, with Hutchison and Cal Poly's Thomas Lehman a stroke back in fourth at 144.

Hutchison kicked off the day with the Aggies' low round, draining eight pars plus the eagle 2 toward a 34 on the front nine, then an even-par 36 on the back for a 70. The mathematics major from San Jose climbed as high as second on the individual leaderboard, dropping to 1-under after his birdie on 14, but ultimately slipped to 74 in the second round for the 144 total.

Bratz carded an even-par 72 in Monday's first round, then a 2-over-74 in the second set of 18 holes to give him a share of eighth place heading into Tuesday's final. He knocked down birdies on 13, 15 and 16 to overcome some tough luck around the turn during his morning round.

Freshman Daniel Kim opened the day with a 4-over 76, then began his second round with an eagle 3 on the 520-yard first hole. The Big West Freshman of the Year candidate ran into some early trouble in the front but scored 12 pars and plus a birdie 4 on the 10th to finish his day. His second-round 73 gave him a 149 total, good for 17th place going into Tuesday's action.

Freshman Natheethorn Teacharuangchit and senior Ryan Han completed the UC Davis lineup with totals of 154 and 155 on Monday. Teacharuangchit scored a pair of 5-over 77 rounds on the day for a tie for 31st place. Han, the 2018 Big West individual champion, rebounded from an 80 in the first round with a 3-over 75 in the second to close the day with a chop of 35th.

Hutchison and Kim had two of 10 eagles scored by the 45-player field during Monday's sessions. UC Santa Barbara's Brett Bennett also made the highlight reel with a hole-in-one on the 168-yard 14th during the second round. 

The Big West championship, hosted by Hawai'i, is contested on a par-72, 6,991-yard course. 

2019 BIG WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP, DAY 1
Wailua Golf Course (Lihue, Hawaii) • Par 72, 6,991 Yards

TEAM SCORES (36 holes)
1. UC Irvine, 288-298–586
2. Long Beach State, 298-291–589
3. UC Davis, 295-296–591
4. Cal State Fullerton, 301-291–592
5. UC Santa Barbara, 297-300–597
6. Hawai'i, 298-301–599
7. CSUN, 299-301–600
8. UC Riverside, 308-298–606
9. Cal Poly, 308-299–607

INDIVIDUAL SCORES (36 holes)
Leader plus UC Davis competitors.

1. Zach Smith, UCSB, 68-74–142
t4. Thomas Hutchison, 70-74–144
t8. Jesse Bratz, 72-74–146
17. Daniel Kim, 76-73–149
t31. Natheethorn Teacharuangchit, 77-77–154
t35. Ryan Han, 80-75–155

ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

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