Andrew Whalen takes early Patriot All-America advantage

LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ (December 29, 2016) -- Northwestern's Andrew Whalen is the early leader at the Patriot All-America being held at the Wigwam Golf Gold Course. Whalen leads an impressive field following his bogey-free 5-under 65 pace setting round. His lead will be one-stroke heading into Friday's second round. Whalen, a redshirt senior, rolled in his first birdie of the day on the third and then another on the fifth as he turned in 2-under 33. Three more birdies were produced on the backside as Whalen kept the peddle to the mettle. The first of his closing side birdies came on the 11th, followed by 13th and 17th hole birdies. Ole Miss sophomore Braden Thornberry had one the best fall seasons of any player in the nation and after his first round at the Wigwam Golf Gold Course it doesn't appear that he has picked up any rust over the last month. After parring the first hole Thornberry birdied four of the next five to quickly reach 4-under prior to the turn. A three-time winner this season, Thornberry, lost some momentum with bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 before rebounding with 16th and 18th hole birdies. Heading into day two the leaderboard will be a crowded one with two players sharing third at 3-under and another five players tied for fifth at 2-under. Included in the 3-under group is UNLV junior John Oda who won the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate during the fall.