North Carolina is off to a fast start at the Southern Highlands Collegiate

February 26, 2023 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Austin Greaser (Todd Drexler photo)

The third-ranked Tar Heels open a seven-shot lead over Pepperdine while three players share the first-round lead in Las Vegas

All five of North Carolina's players shot rounds of par or better on Sunday as the third-ranked Tar Heels combined for a team score of 17-under 271 to take a seven-shot lead after the first round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas.

No. 12 Pepperdine is seven back while No. 8 Florida and No. 11 Texas are tied for third at 5-under.

North Carolina senior Austin Greaser had seven birdies and an eagle on his Sunday card en route to an 8-under 64, which gives the reigning Western Amateur champion a share of the first-round lead with Pepperdine's Sam Choi and two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Yuxin Lin of Florida.

In addition to Greaser's 64, Dylan Menante shot 4-under 68, David Ford had a 69, Ryan Burnett shot 70 and Peter Fountain posted an even-par 72.

Pepperdine, which is coming off an impressive win at The Prestige last week, is in second after shooting a 10-under 278. Choi (-8; 64) and Roberto Nieves (-2; 70) were the only two players in red numbers for the Waves, which also counted even par rounds turned in by William Mouw and Derek Hitchner.

The Longhorns couldn't find another hot hand to go along with Christiaan Maas' opening round of 66 and are tied with Florida, which was paced by co-leader Lin's 8-under 64, which tied his career low round.

The Southern Highlands Collegiate also marks the debut of highly-touted freshman Tommy Morrison. Competing as an individual, Morrison made four birdies against two bogeys on his way to an opening-round score of 70.

The Southern Highlands Collegiate continues with 18 holes on Monday, Feb. 27 and concludes with 18 holes on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

Results: Southern Highlands Collegiate

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Yuxin Lin	, China	800	64-70-69=203
2	Christiaan Maas	, South Africa	500	66-69-71=206
T3	Tommy Kuhl	Morton, IL	400	72-67-68=207
T3	William Paysse	Belton, TX	400	69-69-69=207
T5	William Mouw	Chino, CA	400	72-71-65=208