STOCKTON, Calif. – In the opening round of the West Coast Conference Championships the University of San Francisco men's golf team shot what is believed to be a program-record 14-under par 274 to take the early.
 
For the first time under head coach Jack Kennedy, all-five Dons shot par or better.  USF carded 26 birdies and one eagle in the opening round at the par-72 The Reserve at Spanos Park.  The Dons opened the tournament on fire, recording seven birdies as a team in the first three holes to open the tournament 7-under. USF finished with five players in the top-20, including three in the top-10.
 
"Today was a great start to our post season run," said head coach Jack Kennedy. "The guys were in a really good place all week and today we saw the results. This tournament has a long way to go but we have set ourselves up to be successful."
 
The tournament leader after 18 holes is sophomore Toby Briggs.  Briggs finished the day with a career-best 6-under 66.  He opened the tournament with a birdie on the first hole, he finished the front-9 even par following a bogey on eight.  On the back-9 Briggs was locked in.  The native of Norfolk, England went 6-under on the back thanks to four birdies and an eagle.  He finished the round going eagle-birdie-birdie on 16, 17, and 18. 
 
Freshman Christoffer Palsson shrugged off a pair of bogeys by carding seven birdies in his opening round to finish tied for second with a 5-under 67.  The 67 is a season-best for Palsson.  The seven birdies for the round are tied for the tournament lead after 18 holes.  He opened the round with birdies on 2, 3, and 5 to go into the turn 2-under.  After a bogey on 12 he birdied holes 14-17 to finish the back 3-under.  
 
Alex Chin finished third for the Dons after finishing with a 2-under 70 which puts him in a tie at seventh.  The Dons' sophomore recorded five birdies on the day and was 2-under on the front-9. 
 
Tim Widing is right behind Chin, he finished just outside the top-10 in 11^th after finishing the afternoon with a 1-under 71.  Widing birdied the first hole and was even on the front-9.  On the back-9 he carded birdies on 11, 16, and 18. 
 
Soren Lind is in fifth for the Dons after finishing with an even par-72, he is currently tied for 18th.  Lind finished the day with five birdies.
 
The 14-under 274 is one of the best opening rounds in WCC history.  It was matched by Saint Mary's in 2012 and surpassed in 2016 when they opened the WCC Championship with a 273. 
 
After one round, the Dons hold a four-stroke lead over BYU who finished with a 10-under 278.  The Dons will be in the final pairing to begin the second round tomorrow.  They tee off at 9:20 with BYU and Saint Mary's.