Freshman golfer Raines Watson recorded his best round of the season with a 67, placing him in a four-way tie for second after the opening round of the Cabo Collegiate in Cabo, Mexico. Watson shares the spot with Preston Stout from Oklahoma State and Arkansas teammates Thomas Curry and Gerardo Gomez. The group trails Ziqun Zhou of Cal by three strokes.
Watson began play on the 15th hole and quickly made a birdie on the 16th. On the front nine, he added birdies at the first and third holes. After a bogey on the seventh, he recovered with birdies at holes nine, ten, and twelve before finishing with another bogey at the 13th. This marks his third round in the 60s this year and his tenth round at par or better.
Rice is tied for fourth place alongside Ole Miss and Cal after shooting a team total of two-under-par 282.
Redshirt senior Henry Daly finished tied for 11th at one under par after carding a 69. It was his fourth sub-70 round this season and eighth overall in his career. Daly has now recorded thirteen rounds of par or better this year.
Senior Lukas Boandl is tied for 25th after posting an even-par 71, which is his team-leading sixteenth round of par or better this season and fifty-fourth in his career.
Sophomore Daniel Zou finished tied for 55th with a score of four-over-par 75, while junior Reggie Zhu posted a seven-over-par 78 to tie for 72nd place.
Oklahoma State leads the tournament at four under par, holding a one-stroke advantage over Arizona State and Arkansas.
Head coach Justin Emil commented: “We played pretty solid most of the day with a few speed bumps, but overall it was a good day. Raines (Watson) had a big-time round today for us. For a freshman to go out and post a round like that, it’s pretty special. You love to see that. He has a great team behind him, so we will keep pushing the next two rounds.”
The tournament continues tomorrow with Rice set to begin its second round from holes five through nine in groups paired with players from Cal, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee.
