Luke Haskew, Reagan Zibilski lead parade of red numbers at 108th Southwestern Amateur

June 14, 2023 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Luke Haskew and Reagan Zibilski lead at Desert Mountain

A comfortable day in the Arizona desert sees low scoring at Desert Mountain in both the men's and women's championships

The 108th Southwestern Men's and Women's Amateur championships teed off on a comfortable day at the Cochise Course at Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., and red numbers soon filled the leaderboards.

LSU rising sophomore Luke Haskew (Baton Rouge, La.) had a beautiful scorecard on Wednesday, tallying 11 3's including an eagle on the par-5 12th to shoot 10-under 62. The round tied the course record on the Cochise Course.

“I felt very relaxed out there and definitely swung it well. I’m pretty sure I hit every fairway and hit nearly every green. Definitely a good ball striking day today,” said Haskew.

Haskew, who leads four players by three shots, is no stranger to low numbers, having shot a 63 in the opening round of the Mossy Oaks Collegiate this spring. It was the third-lowest round shot by an LSU golfer since at least 1985.

The defending champion is lurking, however. Davis Bryant (Aurora, Colo. / Colorado State), who shot his own 63 on the Geronimo Course last year en route to a two-shot victory, put himself in good position to repeat with a bogey-free 65. He is joined at 7 under par by Caden McMackin of Loyola Marymount, Jimmy Dales of the University of Wyoming, and Brandon Shong of the University of New Mexico.

In all, there were 32 under-par rounds and the projected cut is a PGA Tour-like even par. Last year's runner-up Gabe Salvanera of Arizona State shot 2-under and sits in a tie for 22nd.

In the Women's Championship, which in its fourth year has already established itself as a top event in the United States, Reagan Zibilski (Springfield, Mo.) of the University of Arkansas shot an 8-under 64 to take a two-shot lead. The rising sophomore has already played in two U.S. Women's Amateurs and the 2019 U.S. Open.

“The past few months I felt very close about my game, so to see it all come together is extremely amazing,” she said. “I came in hitting good, my ball striking was good, and I was rolling the putter very well.”

Grace Lee (Bellevue, Wash.) of Gonzaga University is solo second after a 66, while former Texas Amateur champion Bentley Cotton (Austin, Texas) of the University of Texas is in third at 5 under.

The defending champion Camille Boyd (Yorba Linda, Calif. / University of Washington) shot a 1-over 73, two shots inside the projected cut line of 3 over par.

The playing order will switch for round two, with the women going off early and the men in the afternoon. The low 36 and ties in each division will advance to the final two rounds.

Results: Southwestern Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Davis Bryant	Aurora, CO	700	65-67-68-66=266
2	Luke Haskew	Baton Rouge, LA	500	62-68-65-72=267
T3	Brandon Shong	, Australia	400	65-69-69-69=272
T3	Dylan Oyama	Carlsbad, CA	400	69-70-66-67=272
5	Jimmy Dales	Northville, MI	400	65-70-72-68=275

View full results for Southwestern Amateur

About the Southwestern Amateur

Luke Haskew, Reagan Zibilski lead parade of red numbers at 108th Southwestern Amateur

The Southwestern Men's Amateur Golf Championship is a prestigious 72-hole stroke play competition open to top national-level amateurs holding a handicap index of 1.4 or better. Following the first 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 36 players...