DAVIS, Calif. – After 18 holes the University of San Francisco men's golf team sits seven back the leaders and is tied for third after shooting a 9-over 297 at the opening round of the El Macero Classic hosted by UC Davis at the El Macero Country Club.
 
The Dons carded 12 birdies as a team and were tremendous on the par-5s as they finished behind only UC Davis and Oregon State after 18 holes at the par-72 7,108 yard course.  Four of the five Dons finished inside the top-35 with three cracking the top-20, all five players finished inside the top-50. 
 
"Today was a very solid start," said head coach Jack Kennedy. "We really tried today to emphasize the process that goes into competing at this level both mentally and physically.  I think we had a lot of positives to build on for tomorrow to keep ourselves in contention."
 
Soren Lind was the Dons' leader after 18 holes, he finished tied for 13^th with a 1-over 73.  He opened the tournament birdie-par-par-birdie and finished the front-9 2-under.  On the back-9 a double on 11 and a bogey on 16 saw him finish the round 1-over.  Only 11 players shot even par or better on the day. 
 
Tim Widing and Toby Briggs finished at a tie for 18^th carding 2-over 74s.  Widing opened the round 3-over at the turn but finished strong on the back-9 recording birdies on 15 and 18 to finish 2-over.
 
Briggs recorded another steady round, finishing both the front and back-9 one over.  He birdied eight and 15.  
 
Freshman Christoffer Palsson is in fourth for the Dons, he sits tied for 35^th with a 4-over 76.  Palsson started slow with and was 5-over through eight. A birdie at nine started a strong back-9 where he shot even par. He finished with a team-high four birdies on the day.  The four birdies is tied for fifth most in the tournament.
 
Fellow freshman Matthew Anderson had a strong opening round, finishing tied for 47^th with a 5-over 77, he recorded a birdie on 15.
 
Host UC Davis is the in the lead after the first day.  The Aggies shot a 2-over 290 – no team finished under par in the opening round.  Loyola Marymount's Riley Elmes and Oregon State's Kyosuke Hara are the co-leaders after finishing with 2-under 70s.
 
The Dons will return to action tomorrow morning when they tee off at 10:50 a.m. from the first tee, they will be partnered with Nevada and Texas Tech.