Trojans lead after first day of Arizona Intercollegiate


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The USC men’s golf team is off to a strong start this spring after yesterday’s action at the Arizona Intercollegiate. The No. 24 Trojans stand in first place after the tournament’s opening 36 holes at 4-under, two strokes ahead of No. 3 Cal and well ahead of No. 16 New Mexico, which sits in third place. Brigham Young and host Arizona tied to round out the top five.

Making the cut · Junior Anthony Paolucci shot a blistering 6-under in yesterday’s first round, earning him a spot atop the individual leaderboard. - Courtesy of USC Sports Information | Daily Trojan

Making the cut · Junior Anthony Paolucci shot a blistering 6-under in yesterday’s first round, earning him a spot atop the individual leaderboard. – Courtesy of USC Sports Information | Daily Trojan

The Trojans and the Golden Bears were knotted up at 3-under going into the final 18 holes, and it appeared that Cal would pull ahead as the day came to a close. A strong finish from freshman Rico Hoey, however, and a few slip-ups from the Bears allowed the Trojans to pull ahead of their Pac-12 rival in the final few holes.

Leading the way for the Trojans was junior Anthony Paolucci, who outlasted Cal’s top-seeded player Brandon Hagy for a two-round low of 7-under.

Hoey, who claimed the team’s top seed after an impressive fall season, and senior Jeffrey Kang each added 1-over marks for the Trojans.

Paolucci got off to a blistering start, leading the pack after 18 holes with a 6-under 71. Hagy kept pace with a 2-under 69 and the pair remained well ahead of the crowd for the rest of the day.

After a disappointing 2-over 73 in the opening round, Hoey returned to form with an 1-under performance over the second 18 holes. The freshman was coming off of an impressive victory in the Gifford Collegiate last fall, a tournament in which he and Paolucci claimed the top two spots on the leaderboard.

USC and Cal figure to be battling all season in a deep Pac-12 conference. Also ranked in the top 25 are Stanford at No. 9, Washington at No. 14 and UCLA at No. 15, while Arizona State recently fell out of the rankings.

The Golden Bears, who finished last season as the top-ranked team in the country, despite losing in the NCAA semifinals, lost top player Michael Kim to the pro tour over the winter break.

Action resumes early this morning at the Sewalio Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. Results can be followed live at golfstat.com.