Southern Cal Open: Amateurs in contention after 18 holes

September 1, 2020 | by Brayden Conover of AmateurGolf.com

Zihao Jin (SDSU athletics)

A high school junior and a SDSU Aztec lead the way for low-am at Indian Wells Resort

The Southern California Open has brought out some of the best local pros and amateurs alike to Indian Wells for 54-holes of high-level golf. Derek Castillo, a pro from Yorba Linda, California leads the way after one round as he posted an opening 8-under 64. Highlighted by two eagles, Castillo holds a slim one-shot lead. Another professional, Spencer Fletcher of Los Altos carded a 65 to hang just one back of Castillo. At 6-under finds a threesome that includes one Ryan Plodkowski. The 16-year-old grabbed the low-am lead following the first round with a 6-under 66. Starting slow, Plodkowski caught fire to close out the front side with three straight birdies closing out the front side at 4-under. Cooling off with a bogey on the par-4 10th and another on the par-3 12, Pllodkowski was able to muster two consecutive birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to get himself back down to 4-under. Capping off the day with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18, Plodkowski sits in a tie for third and just two shots back of the round one leader. Having to find tournaments thanks to the Mountain West Conference postponing fall sports, Zihao Jin, a San Diego State senior is also in the thick of things. Jin kept his scorecard clean en route to carding a 5-under 67. Bookending the front side with birdies to make the turn at 2-under, Jin stayed consistent. Draining back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15, Jin was able to finish on a high note with a birdie on 18 to end the first round three shots back of Castillo in solo third. Four more amateurs have work to do heading into the second round but nonetheless are still in great position as the event marches on. Kento Yamawaki, Inigo Izuzquiza, Trip Morris, and Trent Hirdler are all 2-under and tied for 15th with 36-holes remaining.

Results: Southern California Open

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
T5	Garrett Boe	Clovis, CA	300	66-70-67=203
T5	Ryan Plodkowski	San Diego, CA	300	66-69-68=203
T23	Zihao Jin	San Diego, CA	50	67-68-71=206
T28	Trip Morris	Valley Village, CA	50	70-69-68=207
T46	Eddy Lai	San Jose, CA	20	64-73-73=210

View full results for Southern California Open

About the Southern California Open

The Championship will be a 54 hole stroke play tournament contested over three days. Following the conclusion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the Low 54 players for the final round. Championship is open to both Professionals and Amateurs. To en...

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