It was a great day for Jon Rahm and the ASU Sun Devils
Brian McGuire photo

Jon Rahm got things going for Arizona State with a 5-under 66; he was one of three counting scores in the 60's as his teammates Jared duToit (68); Ki Taek Lee (67) and Alberto Sanchez (68) rounded out the red number cards for the Sun Devils.

Rahm started the day with a bogey on the par-4 first hole and didn't appear to be headed for anything too special after shooting 1-over on the front nine of the 7046 Greg Norman Course.

But you don't get near the top of the World Rankings without knowing how to make runs of birdies, and Rahm did that on the back. After making back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12, he went lights out and added four in a row from No. 14 to 17 -- before settling in with a par on 18 to finish a back nine of 30.

Lee and Sanchez dropped their first round scores by 7 shots each, and that made all the difference in ASU's turnaround.

First round leaders LSU are holding on to second place despite shooting even par on the round today. Their top two players posted low numbers (Zach Wright a 66 and Brandon Pierce a 68) but the remaining three shot 4-over 75 today. Stanford is in third place with David Boote (68) a standout for the Cardinals today.

San Diego State made a huge move, taking 19 shots off their first round with all players (including Ryann Ree at 66) posting rounds of par or better. They stand at 1-over 569.

Three players tied for low individual 36-hole lead at 8-under are; first round leader Frederick Wedel of Pepperdine (66-68); Zach Wright of LSU (68-66); and Ryann Ree of San Diego State (68-66).

FIRST ROUND SUMMARY

Frederick Wedel’s first round of the spring season was a great one as the Pepperdine men’s golf senior has the first-round lead at The Prestige at PGA West after a 5-under 66 on Monday. Wedel (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS) leads Stanford’s Brandon Wu by one shot. Wedel had a total of eight birdies on the day, including three in his final four holes.

LSU has the team lead by 5 shots over Stanford after opening with 7-under 277. They were paced by Zach Wright (68) and Brandon Pierce (69), while Sam Burns and Eric Ricard pitched in 1-under 70's.

Stanford, in second place, was paced by Wu at 67 and Maverick McNealy at 68. USC, Arizona State, and Duke round out the top 5 in the top drawer collegiate field.

Wedel's Pepperdine team is in sixth place after an opening-round 290 at the par-71 Greg Norman Course at PGA West. All five teams ahead of Pepperdine are ranked in the nation’s top 30.

The second round is Tuesday and the third and final round is on Wednesday.